How to Make an Internal Update with Synthesia
A practical 2026 path for internal comms: write a 60–90 second script from the signed company brief, put a Synthesia host next to one slide, generate the cut, and drop the MP4 or share link into Slack or the all-hands email — without filming the exec every Friday. Built from Synthesia's live docs and pricing (August 2026).
Most “AI all-hands video” posts skip the two facts that actually decide the project. First: an internal update is not a welcome track and it is not a public explainer. It is 60–90 seconds that names what changed, who it hits, and one next step — reply in Slack, open the wiki line, watch the rest of the recording. 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 exec every time the date or the owner moves: brief, host, one slide, generate, shelf.
When an all-hands recap needs an avatar — and when it doesn't
Use an avatar when the Slack channel or the Friday email needs a face and you cannot or will not sit a named leader in a room every time finance moves a cutoff or ops renames a channel. Edit the line, swap the one slide, generate again. That is the economic case.
Skip the avatar if the team only needs a written post. Skip it if the news has to be a live Q&A — the update closes with “reply in this thread” or “watch the rest of the recording,” it does not replace the town hall. Skip it if the file is a Day-1 welcome — the HR how-to is the other desk. Skip it if the file is a concept definition — the explainer how-to names the idea, not this Friday’s decision. Skip it if the file is a recap for an external list — the webinar-recap how-to is a no-show email. Skip it if the file is a ticket path — the support how-to walks clicks in a help article.
The seven-step Synthesia internal update
- 01
Write a 60–90 second company-update script from the signed brief
An internal update is the decision, spoken. Open on what changed and the date it lands, name who it affects, then close on one next step — reply in the Slack thread, open the wiki line, or watch the rest of the all-hands recording. Pull from the comms brief, the all-hands notes, or the memo Legal already signed. Time it out loud. Most company updates sit between 60 and 90 seconds. If you wanted a Day-1 handbook welcome, that is the HR onboarding how-to. If you wanted a concept definition, that is the explainer how-to. If you wanted a post-session digest for an external list, that is the webinar-recap how-to. If you wanted a help-article click path, that is customer support.
- 02
Confirm a talking-head update is the right internal format
Use a presenter when the all-hands recap or the Slack / email blast needs a face and you will not film the CEO, the CFO, or a camera every time a date or an owner moves. Skip the avatar for a live town hall, a manager 1:1, or a written post that does not need a voice. Skip it if the file is really a Day-1 welcome, a concept explainer, an external webinar recap, or a ticket walkthrough. The avatar is a comms host reading the current brief, not a substitute for the live meeting and not a substitute for a named leader when the news 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 all-hands video” search; they are editorial mentions here, not hops. Mixing the names is the expensive mistake. This page sends you to Synthesia only. Slack and the company email tool are shelves, not hops.
- 04
Pick one stock avatar as the comms host
Select the Avatar tab in the top menu and choose one stock presenter. Keep that face for this series and for later recuts when the date or the owner moves. A company-update read is first-person plural and specific: we, this Friday, this channel. Head-and-shoulders. Do not commission a founder likeness until comms and legal have watched a stock cut of the real brief. Do not clone an executive voice unless you have written consent. One host. One crop.
- 05
Add one slide — not a deck tour
The picture job is a single visual the avatar can point at: the decision, the date, the owner. 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 slide as an image and upload it. Import PowerPoint exists for a full .pptx; for one slide, the image upload is enough. If the update only makes sense on a live internal 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 the room. Place the visual beside or under a head-and-shoulders crop. We do not invent an “all-hands” or “Slack update” 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 update. Split the decision and the “what to do next” beat across scenes if you want a pause on the slide. Use Generate at the top right. If the file will play muted in Slack 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 decision, the 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 the exec.
- 07
Download the MP4 or copy the share link, then drop it in Slack or the all-hands 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 panel can copy a GIF thumbnail for email. Upload the MP4 into the Slack channel the team already watches, or paste the share link in the thread. For email, put the GIF or the MP4 above the written recap. Keep the written recap. Name the export so the next recut is obvious: allhands-invoice-cutoff_aug_v1. When the date or the owner moves, change that line, generate, bump the version, replace the file or the link.
Comms-host avatar vs filming the all-hands vs a written post
“AI internal comms 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 comms the export is included.
| Criterion | Comms-host avatar (Synthesia) | Film the live all-hands | Written Slack / email post |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the team sees | A host talking to camera next to one slide that names the decision, the date, and the owner | A real room, a real hour, a file that ages the week the date moves | A paragraph they were already going to skim |
| When it is the right buy | The Slack channel or all-hands email needs a 60–90s face and you will not re-film every recut | 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 date or owner changes | Edit the line and swap the one slide, generate again, replace the Slack or email object | Re-book the exec, the room, and an editor | Revise the post — no voice to update |
| Where it lives | A Slack channel or an all-hands email, above the written recap | The recording library, if anyone watches it | The same channel or inbox, as text |
| Best 2026 fit | A company update you will keep current: what changed, who it hits, one next step | A town hall that cannot be an avatar | The source of truth the update should quote, not replace |
Synthesia
A comms-host presenter reading a 60–90s company update, with one slide on canvas. Free Basic to audition; a paid plan is where a clean Slack or email download starts.
A 60–90s update script is the brief, spoken
Do not write a keynote and hope someone cuts it down. Open the signed comms brief, the all-hands notes, or the memo: what changed, the date you can stand behind, who it hits, the one next step that will still work next week. Those sentences are the script. If a number is still in review, that clip waits. An avatar reading last quarter’s cutoff is worse than a Slack post, because it sounds finished.
Four beats, in this order. Name the change in the first sentence. Say who it affects in one line. Walk the date and the owner against the one slide. Close on one next step in that same Slack thread or that same email: reply here, open the wiki line, or watch the rest of the recording. First person plural. No joke about “the algorithm.” Time it out loud: 60 seconds is a tight decision; 90 seconds is a decision plus one “what this is not” beat. Longer than that and you are making a lesson.
An invoice-cutoff read that fits the window sounds like this — about 75 seconds when you say it, not when you skim it:
Friday’s update is the invoice cutoff. Starting this month, finance closes expense reports on the 20th, not the last business day. If you submit after the 20th, the receipt lands in the next cycle. This hits anyone who codes time or travel to a client. The slide in this clip is the whole map: the 20th, the #ask-finance thread, and who owns exceptions. Reply in that thread if a receipt will miss the date. The rest of the all-hands recording is in the same email this update arrived in.
A desk-booking or a channel-move read uses the same skeleton. Name the change, name the date, point at one slide, close on the Slack thread or the email. Do not stack a culture speech, a six-slide tour, and a benefits recap in a single file. One update, one decision, one picture.
Do not write a learning objective with a quiz. Do not write a trial CTA card. Do not write a numbered password-reset list. Do not ask the avatar to “sound like the CEO.” 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 comms 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 Slack does not look like a new hire every Friday. A comms host says we and this Friday. It is not a people partner walking Day 1, not an explainer reading a glossary, and not a support agent walking clicks.
A custom founder 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 phone, in a Slack column. The voice is not enough. Pick one visual the avatar can point at for the whole cut.
If the decision 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 deck 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 “company update” control. If your
workspace has a saved layout, use it. If it does not, this
upload is the whole move.
If the update only makes sense on a live internal 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 channel. You are showing the one decision, 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 change, Subtitle or Body for the date and the owner. Type the same words the avatar will say. Drag a corner to size it; keep it readable on a narrow Slack column. Do not stack the whole memo 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 Slack
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 email tool wants a separate track.
Generate, then export into Slack or the all-hands email
Generate sits at the top right. Title the file the way the Slack post or the email is titled. Watch the first second and the one visual against the live brief. Proper nouns, dates, and channel names are where these reads go wrong — fix the script, generate again. That loop is the product. An exec 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 Slack wants a file. Interactive buttons and branching cannot go out as an MP4 — leave those off an update 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 Slack channel the team already watches, or paste the share link in the thread. Put the same next-step line in the message that you put on the slide. For the all-hands email, the Share panel can copy a GIF thumbnail; keep the written recap under the player. A viewer who cannot play video still needs the sentences. Slack 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.
Name the object so the next person can find it:
allhands-invoice-cutoff_aug_v1,
slack-desk-booking_tue_v1. When the date or
the owner 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 an internal 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 comms the download is included — we do not invent a checkout total or a commission rate.
For a first update, start on Basic with a real brief paragraph, not a placeholder greeting. Move to a paid plan when you need a logo-off file or a link you will actually send. Buy Creator for a personal comms-host avatar or more minutes — not for “more cinema.” Buy Enterprise when brand asks for a kit 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 Fridays, not a year of all-hands.
Localization and other desks are next steps, not this brief
Ship the home-market update first. A second language is a translation of a signed brief, 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 Day-1 welcome is the HR how-to. A concept definition is the explainer. A post-session digest for an external list is the webinar recap. A help-article walkthrough is customer support.
The team still deserves a plain-language note when the presenter is synthetic. Say it in the Slack post or the email, above or under the player: this is a comms-host avatar reading the current company brief. 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 exec — editorial only
Those names sit in the same “AI all-hands video” search. HeyGen is the usual Synthesia alternative in reviewer write-ups: faster custom-avatar turnaround, punchier social presenters, less of the internal-comms shelf. A Loom or a native screen recorder is the right tool when you do not need a face. A filmed exec 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 internal update we can route, it is Synthesia.