Synthesia's training platform is moving into live coaching
Synthesias training platform moving beyond videos marks a shift toward measurable live coaching. On Wednesday, British startup Synthesia launched Roleplay Sessions, where employees practice sales pitches, performance reviews, and customer complaints with AI avatars that talk back, push back, and score them against a rubric.
Key Takeaways
- Synthesia launched Roleplay Sessions for interactive enterprise training with AI avatars.
- Avatars practice high-stakes talks, push back, and score learners against rubrics.
- Early customers include major European and Fortune 100 firms, plus a top recruiter.
- The product sits under a broader Sessions platform that may expand to interviews.
- Enterprise-only for now, with wider access planned as inference costs fall.
What did Synthesia launch, and why does it matter?
For years, Synthesia helped enterprises build interactive training videos quickly and cheaply. Its newest bet is different: proving that AI training actually changes behavior, not just that it looks polished.
According to TechCrunch, Roleplay is the first release under a broader "Sessions" platform. Synthesia plans to expand into other formats, including job interviews and candidate screening.
That shift matters as companies scrutinize whether AI spend delivers results. Soft skills and sales practice sit at the center of early demand across enterprise teams.
How do AI Roleplay Sessions work for workplace training?
Employees converse with an AI avatar that responds in real time. Scenarios cover sales pitches, performance reviews, and customer complaints—the kinds of talks that are hard to rehearse safely at scale.
After each session, the system scores performance against a rubric. Customers can build programs themselves or work with Synthesia consultants using existing training documents and context.
CEO and co-founder Victor Riparbelli told TechCrunch that video beats text for learning, but practice plus feedback is what sticks. The most popular use cases so far involve sales teams and leadership soft skills.
Synthesia also argues, citing learning research, that most corporate training stops short of changing behavior because it informs and demonstrates without requiring people to do the work and get feedback.
Who is using it, and where does Synthesia go next?
A company spokesperson said early Roleplay customers with scaled rollouts include one of the top three companies by market cap in Europe, one of the top five Fortune 100 firms, and one of the world's biggest recruitment companies.
Roleplay is enterprise-only for now. Riparbelli's goal is to open it to small businesses, prosumers, and possibly educational institutions in the coming months as inference costs drop.
By adding rubrics, performance data, and analytics on top of proprietary avatars and OpenAI-powered reasoning, Synthesia is pitching itself as a performance-management layer—not just an avatar maker. Riparbelli said executives want granular data on talent, such as how a sales force performs overall after practicing with an AI role player.
For more on emerging AI workplace tools, explore Future Tech & AI Wonders on BlasterPost.