How to Make an AI Avatar Training Video with Synthesia
A practical 2026 path for work: write a learning-objective script, generate a governed presenter in Synthesia, pick the plan that matches LMS / SSO / localization, QC the lesson, and package it for the LMS. Synthesys is a different company and the optional value alt. Built from each vendor's live pricing and docs (August 2026).
Most “AI training video” posts skip the two facts that actually decide the project. First: a lesson with a learning objective is not a YouTube hook, and it is not cinematic generative video. Second: the tool this site sends first for governed presenter training is Synthesia (synthesia.io). Synthesys (synthesys.io) is a different company — a creator bundle you open only if you do not need SCORM, SSO, or a brand kit. This guide is the working path for L&D, internal comms, and a product explainer that has to survive Legal: script, plan, avatar, lesson build, QC, package.
When a training video needs an avatar — and when it doesn't
Use an avatar when the lesson needs a face on camera and you cannot or will not book talent, lights, and a re-shoot every time the policy changes. Onboarding modules, compliance refreshers, product-enablement explainers, and all-hands updates that must stay current are the fit. Edit the script, re-render, done. That is the economic case Synthesia was built for.
Skip the avatar if the session is a live workshop, a manager conversation, or a screen-only software walkthrough that does not need a presenter. Synthesia can import PowerPoint and record the screen; the avatar is still a narrator. Skip it if you only need a voice — that is how to clone your voice, and a stock studio narrator is often cheaper. Skip it if the video will run as a public YouTube explainer with ads — start at How to make an AI avatar video instead.
The seven-step Synthesia training video
- 01
Write a training script, not a YouTube hook
A corporate training video is a lesson. Open with the learning objective, one policy or procedure per beat, and names, product terms, and numbers spelled the way a learner should hear them. If you wanted a first-second hook, AdSense, or a faceless-channel explainer, that is the YouTube avatar how-to — a different job.
- 02
Confirm an avatar is the right training format
Use an avatar when the lesson needs a face on camera and you cannot re-book talent every time Legal changes a paragraph. Skip it for a live workshop, a screen-only software walkthrough, or a slide deck that does not need a presenter. Synthesia can import PowerPoint and record the screen; the avatar is still a narrator, not a substitute for a lab or a manager conversation.
- 03
Open Synthesia (synthesia.io) — check the domain
Synthesia is the governed presenter platform this page is written for. Synthesys (synthesys.io) is a different company selling a voice + avatar + generative-video bundle. HeyGen, Colossyan, and Pictory show up in the same search; they are editorial mentions here, not hops. Mixing the names is the expensive mistake.
- 04
Pick the plan that matches the training desk
Basic ($0) is an audition: 9 avatars, 10 minutes a month, no clean download. Starter ($29/month, or $18/month billed yearly) is where downloads and logo removal start — 1,200 credits and 10 minutes of video or dubbing a month. Creator ($89/month, or $64/month yearly) adds five personal avatars, API, and interactive video. Enterprise is where SCORM, SSO/SAML, brand kits, and 1-click translation into 80+ languages live. Unused minutes do not roll over.
- 05
Choose stock vs personal / Studio avatar for brand safety
A stock presenter is enough to prove the lesson works. Personal avatars sit on paid plans; Synthesia's FAQ says one custom personal avatar is included on annual Starter and Creator, and the Creator card lists five. A Studio Express-1 avatar is a $1,000/year add-on and can take up to ten days. Do not buy a custom likeness until a stock avatar has survived a legal and L&D pass on a real script.
- 06
Build the lesson: scenes, captions, quizzes, optional roleplay
Write the script into scenes. Add auto-captions. Creator unlocks interactive video (CTAs, branching, quizzes). The 2026 pricing page also lists Roleplay Sessions — practice conversations with scored feedback — as a new release. Import slides if the lesson already lives in PowerPoint. Brand kits and SCORM packaging are Enterprise. Do not buy Creator hoping it adds cinema; it adds minutes, personal avatars, and interactivity.
- 07
Generate, QC, localize if needed, package for the LMS
Edit the script and re-render instead of re-booking a studio. Watch the first second, proper nouns, and policy numbers. Mouth-sync is consistently strong in English and major European languages; budget a native-speaker pass outside that set. 1-click translation and SCORM export sit on Enterprise. Embeds update when you edit. Confirm commercial and internal-use terms on the plan you will export from.
Which Synthesia plan actually ships the lesson in 2026
“AI avatar tool” is a search, not a product. Synthesia made a corporate presenter system and meters it in credits plus video minutes. Pricing below matches the live synthesia.io/pricing page as of August 2026. The yearly toggle shows Starter at $18/month and Creator at $64/month; the FAQ on the same page still quotes $264/year and $804/year. We report both. Unused minutes do not roll over. Credits are a shared pool for video, dubbing, and other AI features.
| Criterion | Basic | Starter | Creator | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly sticker (August 2026) | $0/mo | $29/mo | $89/mo | Custom |
| Yearly display / FAQ | — | $18/mo display; FAQ $264/yr | $64/mo display; FAQ $804/yr | Annual, sales-quoted |
| Video / dubbing minutes | 10 min/mo | 10 min/mo (120 min/yr on annual) | 30 min/mo (360 min/yr on annual) | Unlimited |
| Stock avatars | 9 | 125+ | 180+ | 240+ |
| Downloads & logo removal | No — audition only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Personal / custom avatars | No | Paid-plan personal avatar; FAQ: one on annual | 5 personal avatars on the card | Unlimited (fair use) |
| Interactive video / quizzes | — | — | Yes — CTAs, branching, quizzes | Yes |
| SCORM, SSO, brand kits, 1-click translation | No | No | No | Yes — SCORM, SAML/SSO, brand kits, 80+ languages |
| Best training fit | Proof a script before you pay | A small library you can download | Team lessons with a personal avatar or quiz | LMS package, SSO, multi-language rollout |
Synthesia
Governed talking-head lessons, a real free Basic plan, and Enterprise controls (SCORM, SSO, brand kits, 1-click translation) when the library has to survive Legal and IT.
Synthesys
Voice + avatar + generative clips on one credit pool, with stated commercial rights on every paid plan. Use it when you do not need an LMS stack — not as a cheaper Synthesia.
Synthesia — the training default
You write a script, pick a stock or personal avatar, generate, then edit the script and re-render instead of re-booking a studio. On a head-and-shoulders framing the stock avatars are convincing — blink cadence, micro head-tilt, mouth-sync in English and major European languages. Hand gestures loop. Full-body action is not the point. Emotional range is narrow. These are narrators. For a compliance module or a product explainer, that is the product.
The 2026 pricing page puts that on a credit-plus-minutes meter. Basic is $0 with 9 avatars and 10 minutes a month — downloads and logo removal start on Starter. Starter is $29/month (1,200 credits, 10 minutes of video or dubbing, 125+ avatars) or $18/month billed yearly. Creator is $89/month (3,600 credits, 30 minutes, five personal avatars, API, interactive video) or $64/month yearly. Annual Starter lists 14,500 credits and 120 minutes a year; annual Creator lists 44,000 credits and 360 minutes a year. Enterprise is where 1-click translation into 80+ languages, SCORM, SSO, and brand kits live. Languages and voices are published as 160+ on every tier. Full breakdown in our Synthesia review.
For a first internal lesson, start on Basic with a real script — a policy paragraph Legal already signed, not a demo sentence. Go to Starter only if you need a clean download. Buy Creator for personal avatars, API, or interactive quizzes — not for “more cinema.” Buy Enterprise when IT asks for SSO or the LMS asks for SCORM. Confirm commercial and internal-use terms on the plan you will export from.
Synthesys — optional value alt, not a cheaper Synthesia
Synthesys is a different company. It puts AI voiceovers, Humatar / digital-twin avatars, frontier text-to-video models, and images on one credit balance so a small team does not stack four subscriptions. Every published plan includes commercial rights with no royalties or attribution. Indie starts at 1,000 video credits, 10 voice-clone slots, and 5 digital twins. That is the reason to pay — breadth — not beating Synthesia on a brand-reviewed close-up, and not replacing SCORM or SSO.
Avatar polish trails Synthesia on a talking head Legal will review. The pages also disagree with themselves on voice/language counts and on the annual discount (30% banner vs a 40% / “~$17/mo” FAQ). We report the pricing grid: Indie $29 / Studio $59 / Agency $119 monthly, displaying $20 / $41 / $83 on the yearly toggle. There is no free plan on that page. If the “training video” is really a faceless explainer plus VO plus ad variations, Synthesys is the closer fit. If the plan is a governed library, it is the wrong buy. Full breakdown in our Synthesys review and the Synthesia vs Synthesys scorecard.
HeyGen, Colossyan, Pictory — editorial only
Those three names sit in the same “AI training video” search. HeyGen is the usual Synthesia alternative in reviewer write-ups: faster custom-avatar turnaround, punchier social presenters, less of the LMS/SSO stack. Colossyan shows up in L&D roundups as another corporate-avatar desk. Pictory is closer to a text-to-video editor than a governed presenter platform. None of them have a live hop on this site, so there is no Try button. The category scorecard is Best AI Avatar Video Tools 2026. If you need the training default we can route, it is Synthesia. If you need the value bundle, it is Synthesys. Do not treat a blog listicle as a checkout.
Voice, custom likeness, and what you tell employees
A cloned line or a custom face you generated on Basic is an audition, not an asset. Synthesia grants downloads from Starter; Basic is the test. Synthesys states full commercial rights on every paid plan and lists no free tier. If the video will sit in an LMS, go to clients, or run as paid media, sit on a paid plan before you export. Confirm Synthesia’s current terms for internal and client use — we do not invent a “full commercial rights” line the pricing page does not print.
Only clone a voice or build a personal avatar you have the right to use. Clone a willing executive or trainer, or get written consent. Platform terms and replica laws are not theoretical. The recording and Instant-vs-Professional path is documented in How to clone your voice for YouTube — the consent rule is the same at work.
Internal training is not YouTube, but employees still deserve a plain-language note when the presenter is synthetic. Say it in the module intro or the LMS description. If you later publish the same file on YouTube, use the current Studio disclosure for realistic altered or synthetic content. That is separate from the vendor license. You need both.