Gemini could soon offer Apple-like 3D avatars, because that's a great use for AI

It goes without saying, but Google expects Gemini to be present in nearly all walks of your life. And as unusual (or unnecessary) as it may sound, Gemini will also bear the load when you don’t want to appear in front of the camera during video calls. And so, Google is building a feature in Gemini that could let you create your 3D avatars.

With the latest Google app beta (version 17.4.66 beta) on Android, we’re seeing a new option to create a digital avatar of yourself. It is referring to this feature as “Characters,” and the following snippet from the app’s code also confirms that:

These digital avatars closely resemble the ones you can create using the Likeness feature on the Galaxy XR headset, suggesting these avatars, or Characters, as Google calls them, may be used as your substitute during video calls. Notably, Apple first brought this feature with the Apple Vision Pro, so your “Persona” could appear in FaceTime calls while you’re using the headset.

Interestingly, the Characters option appears in the overflow menu of the Gemini launcher on Android (part of the Google app). Tapping this option opens a screen that lets you record your “Likeness,” followed by the option to record a selfie video to generate a 3D avatar. Using the existing options, you can also edit or delete previously recorded avatars. The option to record a fresh video currently does not work for us.

Notably, we recently learned about the Likeness feature for Gemini on the web, but suspected it was related to verifying whether a video was AI-generated. Turns out, we were wrong about that assumption.

Since the avatar is being generated without the array of sensors on the Galaxy XR or Apple Vision Pro headsets, we suspect Gemini could be at play here.

However, we’re still unsure of the feature’s exact utility. But we will ensure letting you know as soon as we have the slightest clue.