Avatars are animated presenters for your content. They can stand in for a talking head and speak using a stock AI voice or your custom voice clone. Just designate a speaker, assign an avatar, and Descript will generate an animated presenter to deliver your content onscreen.

Use a pre-made avatar from the Descript gallery or create your own by uploading a photo, generating an avatar image from a text prompt, or combining both. Learn how to create a custom avatar.

Avatars work with both text-to-speech (TTS) and your own recorded content. Each speaker in the composition can have one avatar assigned at a time, which applies consistently across the entire project.

How to use avatars in your project

The workflow depends on the type of audio you’re using:

• Write a script and generate audio with text-to-speech.
• Record your own voice directly in Descript.
• Import pre-recorded audio, like a podcast or screen recording.

For step-by-step instructions for each workflow, see How to use avatars in Descript.

Manage avatars in a project

Once assigned, an avatar follows its speaker anywhere that speaker appears in your composition. You can:

• Update or remove avatars by clicking the speaker label and choosing Update speaker’s avatar.
• Resize, reposition, and crop the avatar in the Scene panel.
• Use avatars with visual effects like Green Screen.
• Regenerate the avatar at any time. (Note: changes to the script or speaker label require re-generation.)

Avatar generation and limits

• When you click Generate avatar, you’ll see your remaining avatar minutes and the estimated generation time.
• Avatars generate in the background; you’ll get an email when the render is complete.
• The maximum avatar generation length is currently 12 minutes.

Tips for using avatars

• Generate after you’ve finalized your script and speaker labels.
• Use Replace media to swap a camera layer for an avatar.
• If an avatar isn’t visible, confirm it’s above other visuals in the layer stack; see layer order.