Synthia shifts focus from videos to AI interactions, offering real-time responses and performance ratings

Synthesia has long been known for leveraging AI to produce interactive corporate training videos in minutes, offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional enterprise learning resources. Now, this British startup is shifting its focus: the true competitive advantage for enterprise AI may not lie in content creation, but in demonstrating tangible effectiveness.

On Wednesday, Synthesia introduced Roleplay Sessions, an interactive training tool that allows employees to rehearse high-stakes conversations—such as sales pitches, performance reviews, and customer service interactions—with an AI avatar. This avatar responds dynamically, challenges the user, and provides a score based on a defined rating scale. As the inaugural product under Synthesia’s broader "Sessions" platform, it is expected to expand into other areas like interviews and candidate screening, according to exclusive insights from TechCrunch.

This launch coincides with a period of corporate scrutiny regarding AI investment returns. Synthesia references a meta-analysis of learning studies indicating that most corporate training, including its core video offerings, typically only achieves "behavioral change." While these tools excel at informing and demonstrating, true learning requires active practice and feedback. "Videos are significantly better than static text or documents," noted CEO and co-founder Viktor Heston. "However, for most skills, our most effective learning method isn't reading—it's doing."

Roleplay also strengthens Synthesia’s market position. While the company develops its own avatars and voice technology, the underlying reasoning engine is powered by OpenAI. By integrating rating scales, performance metrics, and analytics, Synthesia transforms into a performance management platform with a video interface, rather than merely an AI avatar provider. "Leadership teams are showing strong interest," Heston explained. "Previously, understanding talent distribution within a company was difficult; now, it is possible. If your entire sales team practices with AI avatars, you gain granular data on overall team performance."

Synthesia has already onboarded several early Roleplay clients who have scaled commercial deployments, including "one of the top three most valuable companies in Europe, one of the top five in the Fortune 100, and one of the largest recruitment firms globally." The two most popular use cases are sales training and leadership development, such as product pitching and managing difficult conversations, with a significant emphasis on soft skills. Similar to its main product, customers can build their own training modules on the platform or engage Synthesia’s consultants for customized solutions, leveraging the company’s existing training documents and background materials.

While currently an enterprise-focused product, Synthesia aims to make Roleplay accessible to small businesses, professionals, and potentially educational institutions in the coming months as reasoning costs decline. Heston views products like Roleplay as the next phase of enterprise AI adoption: companies are less concerned with social media demos and more focused on measurable business outcomes.