TikTok to enable brands to create virtual influencers
Following the launch of ‘Symphony’, the new ‘creative AI suite’ on TikTok, the platform is levelling up once again to enable brands to use virtual influencers to help sell products in the app.
The ‘digital avatars’ will either be Stock Avatars (pre-built characters using paid actors that are licensed for commercial use), or Custom Avatars (brands can generate avatars in their own likeness). The concept is well-refined, and is already hugely popular in the Chinese market.
TikTok believes that by introducing avatars able to speak multiple languages, it will help brands to expand globally. Only time will tell how consumers react to AI influencers promoting products.
Read more here.
YouTube to integrate AI chat topic sorting to live streams
YouTube has trialled AI summarised comment topics on videos in the app and is now expanding this to encompass live videos. This means that comments will be separated into topic groups during a live stream.
YouTube has said, “to help you more quickly understand and participate in the exciting conversations that happen via YouTube live chat, we’re experimenting with AI-generated live chat summaries”.
This will hopefully make it easier for viewers to get an understanding of the key focuses of the livestream. Chat streams can become convoluted and fast-paced during a live stream, so the overviews of discussion topics may increase engagement.
Read more here.
X paywall expands again
The platform X is moving another feature behind its paywall so that only Premium subscribers will be able to live stream. As users are required to pay, the amount of live-streamed content uploaded to the app will decrease.
This extra content uploaded from livestreams has been a bonus for creators and brands, so why is it now behind a paywall? It has been suggested that users have been streaming illegal content via the live option, and X is facing copyright issues because of this. The platform hopes that making streaming a paid feature will manage this.
This will likely go against Elon Musk’s ‘citizen journalism’ hopes, making it more difficult for people to broadcast live events.
Read more here.
Instagram users can livestream to Close Friends only
The addition of Close Friends on Instagram Live will allow users to livestream with up to three other people in a private session so that only those on the Close Friends list will be able to view.
This option for smaller groups to interact with live videos encourages more meaningful and intentional interaction on the app.
This comes as Instagram has been shifting towards private sharing, as seen with the updates to the DMs, such as the Notes feature. This has been popular with younger users, and Close Friends on Live aims to have similar traction with Gen Z.
Read more here.
X develops another analytics tool for audience insights
According to X News Daily a new analytics tool is being developed that will show insight into when your audience is active on the platform.
This feature has been available in third-party tools for a while and has been effective in planning strategy for posting on X to get the most engagement. The advanced analytics are for Premium subscribers only, which X is hoping will increase the number of creators and brands paying for the subscriber perks.
But is this too little too late? It is reported that X’s revenue is still down by 50%, and X is less attractive to brands than it once was. For those already set in their ways using third-party tools, or users who don’t see the use in the platform itself, this new tool may not be as popular as X predicts.
Read more here.