AI video company Synthesia has launched the next-generation digital human model, Express-3, claiming it to be the most advanced avatar model to date: it performs with perceivable script emotions, has more natural lip-syncing and body language, and generates content approximately twice as fast. This model also drives Style Avatars, allowing users to create stylized characters in the Avatar Builder using prompts or presets, and is available for all packages.

The release notes specify that Express-3 will replace Express-2 on the platform, while Express-1 avatars remain unaffected. Emotional performances can switch between contexts such as happy, serious, neutral, and friendly; visuals are clearer, lip-syncing aligns better with speech, gestures are more script-aligned, and gaze issues are reduced. The company also introduced a text assistant that completes planning, brand alignment, and revisions in a single conversation, consolidating workflows into one chat box.

Synthesia targets corporate training and marketing short videos, where buyers seek repeatable, translatable on-screen personas rather than cinematic long shots. In evaluation metrics, short clips are easier to pass blind tests for "human-ness," while those over a few minutes may still reveal repetitive eye movements and micro-expressions. Style Avatars expand the realistic digital human product line to include cartoon and brand mascots, reducing the need for custom shoots.

The generation speed doubling directly impacts the queuing and per-clip billing experience. The availability of all packages means that free or entry-level users can also access the new rendering, aimed at retention rather than just providing enterprise seats. The interactive digital human route is still separately planned for listening and viewing, with Express-3 initially addressing one-way content generation.

Market-wise, this represents a generational shift in corporate video generation models. Buyers are companies looking to produce training videos in bulk; sellers are vendors who maintain platform default rendering through emotion and speed. Funds flow from subscription seats to rendering queues. Beneficiaries are clients who have integrated brand digital humans into templates; those under pressure are competitors relying on old lip-syncing methods and small studios shooting live-action or digital humans on a per-clip basis. The event is driven by product releases.

On a supplementary note, "approximately twice as fast" refers to the official generation delay metric, excluding script and review time. Copyright and portrait rules for Style Avatars depend on the generation terms.

Source: Public Information