How to Make a Policy Update with Synthesia
A practical 2026 path for People Ops: write a 60–90 second script from the signed handbook amendment, put a Synthesia host next to one slide, generate the cut, and drop the MP4 or share link into the LMS or the policy email — without filming the CHRO every time Legal amends a clause. Built from Synthesia's live docs and pricing (August 2026).
Most “AI policy video” posts skip the two facts that actually decide the project. First: a handbook update is not a Day-1 welcome and it is not Friday’s all-hands. It is 60–90 seconds that names the signed clause, the date it lands, who it binds, and one way to acknowledge it — complete the LMS module, reply to the policy email, ping People Ops if a leave already crosses the line. Second: the tool this site sends for that talking-head file is Synthesia (synthesia.io). This guide is the working path when you will not film the CHRO every time Legal amends a rate or a window: clause, host, one slide, generate, shelf.
When a handbook amendment needs an avatar — and when it doesn't
Use an avatar when the LMS assignment or the all-staff policy email needs a face and you cannot or will not sit a named leader in a room every time PTO accrual, hybrid days, or a receipt window moves. Edit the line, swap the one slide, generate again. That is the economic case.
Skip the avatar if People only needs a written packet. Skip it if the news has to be a live Q&A — the update closes with “acknowledge this module” or “reply to this email,” it does not replace office hours. Skip it if the file is a Friday comms blast — the internal-update how-to is the other desk. Skip it if the file is a Day-1 welcome — the HR how-to walks the whole handbook. Skip it if the file is a concept definition — the explainer how-to names the idea, not this amendment. Skip it if the file is a ticket path — the support how-to walks clicks in a help article.
The seven-step Synthesia policy update
- 01
Write a 60–90 second script from the signed handbook amendment
A policy update is the clause, spoken. Open on what the handbook now says and the date it takes effect, name who it binds, then close on one acknowledgment — complete the LMS module, reply to the policy email, or ping People Ops if a scheduled leave already crosses the date. Copy the words Legal already signed. Time it out loud. Most handbook amendments sit between 60 and 90 seconds. If you wanted a Day-1 welcome, that is the HR onboarding how-to. If you wanted a Friday all-hands recap, that is the internal-update how-to. If you wanted a concept definition, that is the explainer how-to. If you wanted a help-article click path, that is customer support.
- 02
Confirm a talking-head policy read is the right format
Use a presenter when the LMS assignment or the all-staff policy email needs a face and you will not film the CHRO, People Ops, or a camera every time Legal amends a rate, a window, or a role tag. Skip the avatar for a live town hall, a manager 1:1, or a PDF that does not need a voice. Skip it if the file is really a Day-1 welcome, a Friday comms blast, a concept explainer, or a ticket walkthrough. The avatar is a policy host reading the current signed clause, not a substitute for the handbook and not a substitute for a named leader when the amendment is still in review.
- 03
Open Synthesia (synthesia.io) — check the domain
Synthesia is the presenter desk this page is written for. On the home screen, start a blank video — Synthesia’s assistant help currently labels that Create video; some workspaces still show New video. Same start. Synthesys (synthesys.io) is a different company. HeyGen and a Loom-style recorder show up in the same “AI policy video” search; they are editorial mentions here, not hops. Mixing the names is the expensive mistake. This page sends you to Synthesia only. The LMS and the company email tool are shelves, not hops.
- 04
Pick one stock avatar as the policy host
Select the Avatar tab in the top menu and choose one stock presenter. Keep that face for this amendment and for later recuts when the rate, the window, or the owner moves. A policy read is first-person plural and specific: we, this handbook, this date. Head-and-shoulders. Do not commission a CHRO likeness until People and Legal have watched a stock cut of the real clause. Do not clone an executive voice unless you have written consent. One host. One crop.
- 05
Add one slide — not a handbook tour
The picture job is a single visual the avatar can point at: the clause, the effective date, who it binds. Select Media at the top of the canvas and choose Upload media — Synthesia’s help lists images as .jpeg, .png, and .svg. Export that one policy slide as an image and upload it. Import PowerPoint exists for a full .pptx; for one amendment slide, the image upload is enough. If the rule only makes sense on a live HRIS screen, select Record at the top of the canvas, then Record Screen, or Upload screen recording if you already have an MP4 — crop anything that should not leave People Ops. Place the visual beside or under a head-and-shoulders crop. We do not invent a “policy” or “handbook” template. If your workspace has a saved layout, use it. If it does not, Media or Record plus the Avatar is the whole move.
- 06
Paste the script, then Generate
Select a scene in the left scene menu, open the script box, and paste the spoken amendment. Split the clause and the “how to acknowledge” beat across scenes if you want a pause on the slide. Use Generate at the top right. If the file will play muted in an LMS tile or in an inbox preview, turn Burned-in captions on in that panel before you generate. Preview a scene first if you only need to check framing — Synthesia’s preview help says a preview does not use credits; Generate consumes minutes. Watch the first second, the clause, the effective date, and the one visual. Mouth-sync is consistently strong in English and major European languages. Hand gestures loop. These are narrators. Edit the line and generate again instead of re-booking People Ops.
- 07
Download the MP4 or copy the share link, then drop it in the LMS or the policy email
A clean download starts on a paid plan — Synthesia’s download help says Basic and trial users cannot download. After generate, use the three-dot menu and choose Download, then the MP4 (Full HD 1080p). Or open Share, create a link, and copy the link or the embed code; Synthesia’s share help says an embed updates when you edit. The same Share path can copy a GIF thumbnail for email. Upload the MP4 into the LMS track People already assigns, or paste the share link / embed if that LMS accepts it. For email, put the GIF or the MP4 above the written clause. Keep the written clause. Name the export so the next recut is obvious: policy-pto-accrual_oct_v1. When Legal amends the rate or the window, change that line, generate, bump the version, replace the file or the link.
Policy-host avatar vs filming People vs a PDF email
“AI policy video” is a search, not a product. The decision is the format. Plan names and download gates on the Synthesia column match the live synthesia.io/pricing page as of August 2026. Confirm the current grid before you tell People the export is included.
| Criterion | Policy-host avatar (Synthesia) | Film the CHRO / People lead | Handbook PDF / policy email |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the employee sees | A host talking to camera next to one slide that names the clause, the date, and who it binds | A real leader, a real hour, a file that ages the week Legal amends the rate | A packet they were already going to skim |
| When it is the right buy | The LMS assignment or policy email needs a 60–90s face and you will not re-film every amendment | The news has to be a named leader, once, and will not be recut | The team only needs the sentences, not a presenter |
| What you re-do when the clause changes | Edit the line and swap the one slide, generate again, replace the LMS or email object | Re-book the exec, the room, and an editor | Revise the packet — no voice to update |
| Where it lives | An LMS module or an all-staff policy email, above the written clause | A one-off attach that People will forget to replace | The same LMS or inbox, as text |
| Best 2026 fit | A handbook amendment you will keep current: the clause, the date, one acknowledgment | A named-leader letter that cannot be an avatar | The source of truth the update should quote, not replace |
Synthesia
A policy-host presenter reading a 60–90s handbook amendment, with one slide on canvas. Free Basic to audition; a paid plan is where a clean LMS or email download starts.
A 60–90s policy script is the clause, spoken
Do not write a town-hall speech and hope Legal catches up. Open the signed amendment, the handbook section it replaces, and the acknowledgment People will assign: what the clause now says, the date you can stand behind, who it binds, the one next step that will still work next quarter. Those sentences are the script. If a rate is still in review, that clip waits. An avatar reading last year’s accrual is worse than a PDF, because it sounds finished.
Four beats, in this order. Name the amendment in the first sentence. Say who it binds in one line. Walk the effective date and the owner against the one slide. Close on one acknowledgment in that same LMS module or that same email: complete the packet, reply here, or ping People Ops if a scheduled leave already crosses the date. First person plural. No joke about “HR being fun now.” Time it out loud: 60 seconds is a tight clause; 90 seconds is a clause plus one “what this is not” beat. Longer than that and you are making a welcome.
A PTO-accrual read that fits the window sounds like this — about 75 seconds when you say it, not when you skim it:
This is a handbook update, not a welcome. Starting October 1, salaried PTO accrues at 1.25 days a month, not 1.0. The change is in the Time Off section Legal signed last week. It applies to everyone on that handbook, including people who already have a balance. Your current bank stays; the new rate starts on the first of October. The slide in this clip is the whole clause: the date, the rate, and #ask-people. Complete the LMS module this email assigned if you have not acknowledged the packet. If a scheduled leave already sits across October 1, reply in that same channel — do not assume the old rate.
A hybrid-day or a receipt-window read uses the same skeleton. Name the clause, name the date, point at one slide, close on the LMS module or the policy email. Do not stack a culture speech, a six-slide handbook tour, and an open-enrollment recap in a single file. One amendment, one picture.
Do not write a learning objective with a quiz. Do not write a Friday Slack recap. Do not write a numbered password-reset list. Do not ask the avatar to “sound like the CHRO.” These presenters are narrators: blink cadence, micro head-tilt, a looping hand. On a head-and-shoulders framing that is enough. Full breakdown of what the avatars actually do is in our Synthesia review.
Pick one policy host. Keep that face.
Select the Avatar tab in the top menu. Choose one stock presenter and keep that face when you recut the series so the LMS does not look like a new hire every amendment. A policy host says we and this handbook. It is not a people partner walking Day 1, not a comms host reading Friday’s brief, and not an explainer reading a glossary.
A custom CHRO likeness is a later decision, not the first invoice. Prove the script on a stock presenter. Personal avatars sit on paid plans — confirm the current count on synthesia.io/pricing. Synthesia’s pricing grid lists a Studio Express-1 avatar as a $1,000/year add-on that can take up to ten days. Clone a voice only with written consent. The consent rule is the same one in How to clone your voice for YouTube.
One slide — Media, Record, or an image export
People watch these muted, on a laptop, in an LMS tile or an inbox preview. The voice is not enough. Pick one visual the avatar can point at for the whole cut.
If the amendment is a slide you own, select Media at the top
of the canvas and choose Upload media. Synthesia’s media
help lists images as .jpeg, .png,
and .svg, and videos as .mp4 or
.webm. Export one slide from the packet as an
image and upload that. Import PowerPoint is a home-screen
path for a full .pptx — useful when you already
have the deck, easy to overshoot when you only need one
frame. We do not invent a “handbook update” control. If your
workspace has a saved layout, use it. If it does not, this
upload is the whole move.
If the rule only makes sense on a live HRIS screen, select Record at the top of the canvas. Synthesia’s screen-recorder help lists Record Screen (Full Screen, Window, or Browser Tab) and Upload screen recording for an existing MP4. Crop the chrome you do not want in a company-wide module. You are showing the one clause, not walking the whole admin console.
Optional on-screen label: select Text at the top of the canvas and pick Title 1 or Title 2 for the amendment, Subtitle or Body for the date and who it binds. Type the same words the avatar will say. Drag a corner to size it; keep it readable on a narrow LMS tile. Do not stack the whole handbook on the card.
Captions: Synthesia’s help lists closed captions, dynamic
captions (Captions in the top menu), and a Burned-in
captions toggle in the Generate panel. For a muted LMS tile
or inbox preview, turn burned-in captions on before you
generate. After generate you can also download
.srt or .vtt from the video menu
if the LMS wants a separate track.
Generate, then export into the LMS or the policy email
Generate sits at the top right. Title the file the way the LMS module or the email is titled. Watch the first second and the one visual against the live amendment. Proper nouns, dates, and plan names are where these reads go wrong — fix the script, generate again. That loop is the product. A CHRO re-book is what you are not buying.
A logo-off download starts on Starter. After the render, open the three-dot menu and choose Download, then the MP4 (Synthesia’s help lists Full HD 1080p). Or open Share, create a link, and copy the link or the embed code. The share link is the better shelf when you will recut the same series; the MP4 is the better shelf when the LMS wants a file. Interactive buttons and branching cannot go out as an MP4 — leave those off an amendment you need to download. If a last scene still points at a “next scene” instead of ending the video, Synthesia’s download help says the MP4 can stay locked; set that last scene to end, generate again.
Upload the MP4 into the LMS track People already assigns — Workday Learning, Lattice, BambooHR, or a generic LMS — or paste the share link or embed if that editor accepts it. Put the same acknowledgment line in the module intro that you put on the slide. For the policy email, Share can copy a GIF thumbnail (Get embed code, then Copy GIF thumbnail); keep the written clause under the player. A viewer who cannot play video still needs the sentences. The LMS and the company email tool are ordinary destinations on this page, not hops — use whatever control that editor already has for an upload or a link. We do not invent a “Synthesia app” inside those products. SCORM export sits on Enterprise; buy that tier when L&D asks for a package, not for a single English amendment you can upload as an MP4.
Name the object so the next person can find it:
policy-pto-accrual_oct_v1,
policy-hybrid-days_sep_v1. When the rate or
the window changes, edit that line, generate, bump the
version, replace the file or the link. Leave the clips
that are still true.
Which Synthesia plan ships a policy update in 2026
The live pricing page (August 2026) lists Basic at $0 with 9 avatars and 10 minutes a month. Downloads and logo removal start on Starter at $29/month, or $18/month billed yearly. Creator is $89/month, or $64/month yearly, with more minutes and personal avatars. Languages and voices are published as 160+ on every tier. Confirm the current grid on synthesia.io/pricing before you tell People the download is included — we do not invent a checkout total or a commission rate.
For a first amendment, start on Basic with a real signed paragraph, not a placeholder greeting. Move to a paid plan when you need a logo-off file or a link you will actually assign. Buy Creator for a personal policy-host avatar or more minutes — not for “more cinema.” Buy Enterprise when brand asks for a kit, IT asks for SSO, or you are ready to localize a locked English master. Confirm internal-use terms on the plan you will export from. Ten minutes a month is a handful of 75-second amendments, not a year of handbook recuts.
Localization and other desks are next steps, not this brief
Ship the home-market amendment first. A second language is a translation of a signed clause, not a reason to start in Enterprise. When you are ready, lock this cut, then follow how to localize training videos — same loop, different packet. A Friday all-hands recap is the internal-update how-to. A Day-1 welcome is the HR how-to. A concept definition is the explainer. A help-article walkthrough is customer support.
Employees still deserve a plain-language note when the presenter is synthetic. Say it in the LMS intro or the policy email, above or under the player: this is a policy-host avatar reading the current signed handbook amendment. If you later publish the same file on a public platform, you also need that platform’s current disclosure for synthetic media. That is separate from the vendor license. You need both.
The comparison of presenter platforms — including where Synthesys sits as a different company — lives on Synthesia vs Synthesys and Best AI Avatar Video Tools 2026. This page does not hop there. The only Try button here is Synthesia.
HeyGen, a Loom, and a filmed CHRO — editorial only
Those names sit in the same “AI policy video” search. HeyGen is the usual Synthesia alternative in reviewer write-ups: faster custom-avatar turnaround, punchier social presenters, less of the LMS/SSO shelf. A Loom or a native screen recorder is the right tool when you do not need a face. A filmed CHRO is the right tool when the face has to be that person and the file will not be recut. None of them have a live hop on this page, so there is no Try button. If you need the handbook amendment we can route, it is Synthesia.