Digital Humans Explained: Use Cases, Examples, and Best Practices for Success

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a small business or managing a large company—there’s never enough time, and there are never enough hands to get everything done. 

But your customers aren’t looking for quick fixes or automated responses. They want real, meaningful interactions. They’re tired of bots that consistently miss the emotional mark. After all, communication is about more than just words—so much is conveyed through body language, facial expressions, and tone. Digital humans capture those subtle cues that bots are unable to convey, bringing them to life in a way that makes online conversations feel more authentic and personal.

It’s no surprise that digital humans have been recognized as one of the most transformative technologies in recent years, estimated to be worth a staggering $125 billion by 2035. In this blog post, we’ll overview digital humans, including use cases, challenges, and how to effectively create digital humans with AI.

What Are Digital Humans?

Digital humans are AI-powered virtual beings that resemble real people in their appearance and behavior and are designed to interact in ways that feel natural and human, bridging the gap between technology and emotional connection. 

Unlike simple avatars or chatbots, digital humans: 

• Look and behave just like you, with realistic expressions and movements.
• Understand what you’re saying and pick up on non-verbal cues you express during interactions.
• Adapt their responses based on the whole picture you communicate, making the conversation feel personal, and engaging.
• Aren’t just there to talk—they smile, nod, and react in ways that make the interaction feel real.

These virtual beings can take on different forms. Some are digital twins, exact replicas of real people, capturing their unique traits and behaviors. Others are entirely fictional, crafted by AI to bring new characters to life. But no matter their origin, digital humans are here to humanize our digital interactions, making them feel as close to real life as possible.

Why Are Digital Humans Important?

Digital humans are set to become a significant part of online communication, largely due to the real business value they bring. 

Digital humans offer a solution that’s both practical and transformative, seamlessly integrating into your operations to provide the personal touch customers expect, without the need to hire and train more staff. They bring empathy and human-like interaction to digital platforms, allowing you to engage with customers, day and night, in a way that feels genuine and responsive.

In short, in a world where efficiency and customer satisfaction are key, digital humans provide the extra support your business needs to stay ahead without sacrificing the quality of connection.

Here are some of the benefits digital humans can provide your business:

• 24/7 availability: Digital humans are always on, ready to assist at any time, providing around-the-clock support without the need for breaks or downtime.
• Scalability and cost-effectiveness: They offer a scalable solution that can grow with your business, helping to reduce costs while maintaining high service quality.
• Enhanced user experience: With the ability to understand and respond to non-verbal cues, digital humans make interactions feel more personal and engaging, bridging the gap between human empathy and AI efficiency.
• Cultural and linguistic adaptability: They can easily switch between languages and cultural contexts, ensuring that your communication is relevant and accessible to a global audience.
• Consistency across platforms: Whether online or offline, digital humans deliver a consistent experience, reinforcing your brand’s identity and message in every interaction.

As the technology used to develop digital humans continues to evolve, their role in business and society will only grow, making them an indispensable part of our digital future.

Where Are Digital Humans Making a Difference? Key Use Cases

It seems as though AI virtual humans are being integrated into all sorts of industries. Their knack for mimicking real-world communication is fueling a wave of new uses, changing the way businesses connect and operate.

Here are some of the main use cases.

Customer Service

Imagine starting your day as a customer service manager. Your digital human is already hard at work, fielding inquiries that range from simple password resets to more complex issues like billing disputes. A customer reaches out frustrated about a payment problem. Instead of the usual scripted responses, the digital human picks up on the frustration in the customer’s voice, offering a calm and empathetic response. It guides the customer through the steps needed to resolve the issue, all while maintaining a conversational tone that feels natural and reassuring. As the day progresses, your digital human seamlessly switches between handling routine questions and escalating more complicated cases to human agents when needed, ensuring that every customer feels heard and valued.

Virtual Assistants

In a busy office, the digital human serves as the go-to virtual assistant for employees, handling a wide range of tasks that enhance the customer experience. It starts the day by managing appointment bookings, answering initial inquiries, and even handling order processing. As customers reach out with specific requests, the digital assistant responds promptly, offering personalized recommendations based on previous interactions. It can guide customers through the process of setting up services, troubleshooting issues, or finding the perfect product, all while maintaining a friendly and conversational tone. By the time your team steps in for more complex cases, the digital human has already handled the routine interactions, ensuring that customers feel attended to and valued from the moment they make contact.

Learning & Development (L&D)

During a company-wide training session, digital humans lead the way in transforming how employees learn. Instead of generic video tutorials, each employee interacts with a digital instructor who adjusts the pace and complexity of the material in real-time. For a group that’s struggling with a concept, the digital human pauses to explain in more detail, using examples that are relevant to their roles. For those who grasp the material quickly, it offers advanced exercises to keep them engaged. The digital human tracks progress and provides personalized feedback, ensuring that each employee gets the most out of the training experience.

Sales and Marketing Video Presenters

Picture a product launch where the presenter isn’t just a talking head reading from a script, but is a digital human who can adapt the pitch based on real-time audience feedback. In a live demo, it dives deeper into popular topics and shifts gears to recapture lost attention. The digital presenter not only delivers information but does so in a way that feels interactive and personalized, making the marketing content feel more like a conversation than a monologue.

Digital Influencers

Digital humans are also taking center stage as digital influencers, interacting with followers, sharing product recommendations, responding to comments, and even hosting live Q&A sessions. Unlike human influencers, they don’t need to take breaks or want to engage in other activities; they can engage with global audiences across time zones. When a follower asks for skincare advice, the digital influencer can easily go beyond suggesting products, tailoring the recommendations to the individual’s skin type and preferences, creating a personalized experience that feels just as real as interacting with a human–one who knows everything about the products they’re sponsored to promote.

How Can You Create a Digital Human With AI?

Whether you’re looking to craft a digital twin of yourself or develop a virtual assistant to interact with customers across the globe, D-ID makes it possible to bring these digital beings to life in just a few simple steps.

Step 1: Create Your Avatar

The first step in creating your digital human is to upload an image. This could be a photo of yourself, a stock image, or even a custom design. The AI uses this image to build the visual foundation of your digital human, ensuring that it looks as lifelike as possible.

Step 2: Upload Your Audio or Text

Next, you’ll need to add the voice and personality to your digital human. You can upload an audio file of your own voice or text that the AI will use to generate speech. The AI matches the voice with the visual cues from the image, syncing facial expressions and movements to ensure everything feels natural and engaging.

Step 3: Watch the Magic Happen

With the image and audio in place, it’s time for the human AI generator to work its magic. The AI combines these elements to produce a fully animated digital human that looks, sounds, and moves just like a real person. Whether you’re using it for customer service, marketing, or entertainment, your digital human is now ready to interact with your audience in a way that feels both authentic and personal.

Potential Risks and Challenges of Digital Humans

While digital humans offer impressive benefits, they’re not foolproof – yet.

• When digital humans appear almost, but not quite, real, it can create a sense of unease or mistrust in users.
• People may share more personal information with digital humans, thinking they’re interacting with a real person, which raises significant privacy issues.
• The creation of digital humans can inadvertently reinforce stereotypes or present skewed representations, leading to ethical concerns about their use.
• As our digital and physical identities diverge, the long-term effects on real-world human interactions remain uncertain.
• The ability to reinvent oneself digitally could lead to challenges around trust and transparency in online interactions.

Examples of Digital Humans in Action with D-ID

D-ID’s digital humans have already made a real impact in various fields, and these compelling examples show just how transformative this technology can be.

Example #1: Listen to My Voice Campaign

In a powerful collaboration with the Michal Sela Forum, D-ID helped create the “Listen to My Voice” campaign, which brought to life women who were victims of spousal violence. Using lifelike avatars, this campaign aimed to raise awareness about domestic violence and went viral, sparking crucial conversations and helping prevent future tragedies.

Example #2: ALS Warriors 

D-ID also partnered with the IsraALS Association to give a voice back to an ALS warrior who lost her ability to speak 20 years ago. This emotional project helped raise funds while demonstrating how AI can bridge the communication gap for those with debilitating conditions.

Example #3: SingIt

In collaboration with Edtech company SingIt, D-ID used its face animation technology to introduce face-to-face AI teachers as part of their English learning platform. Integrating D-ID’s rapid video rendering and conversational AI allowed SingIt to create digital teachers that offer real-time, personalized feedback to students. 

So, What’s Next? 

Now that you know what digital humans are and why they’re important for your business, it’s time to start creating your own.
Sign up for a free trial or contact our support team for more information.