Making Corporate Training Videos More Engaging with Generative AI
Many employees skip through mandatory corporate training videos or fail to give them their full attention. A recent Kaltura poll revealed that 75% of staff admit to either skimming, watching without sound, or multitasking during training sessions. With the high production costs of these videos, is there a way to enhance engagement and reduce wasted resources? Dominik Mate Kovacs, co-founder and CEO of Colossyan, believes generative AI offers a solution.
Colossyan harnesses the power of AI to create captivating workplace learning videos. The platform allows users to remix, reanimate, and edit footage featuring various virtual avatars set against customizable backdrops. Users simply input a script, and Colossyan’s text-to-speech (TTS) engine reads it aloud, translating it into over 70 languages.
“To create video content with Colossyan’s AI platform, users can input their script and choose from a range of avatars,” Kovacs shared in an email interview. “This allows any company to efficiently produce videos on a variety of topics without needing traditional filming resources.”
Founded in 2020 after Kovacs’ tenure at Defudger, a deepfakes detection platform, Colossyan came to fruition as interest in generative AI in the corporate sector was on the rise. With a background in engineering and data science, Kovacs noted the growing adoption of AI by enterprises across multiple areas such as IT automation, customer service, and digital labor.
“As companies recognize the effectiveness of AI in streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery, they are actively addressing barriers like AI skill gaps and data complexity,” Kovacs explained.
Curious about its capabilities, I decided to test Colossyan’s platform, which offers a free trial, to see if I could create a training video engaging enough for my attention span—an admittedly challenging task. While I found the avatars somewhat stiff and cartoon-like, and the TTS engine more robotic compared to other sophisticated generative AI tools, I also recognized that it’s an improvement over many traditional corporate videos.
One downside is that Colossyan’s video processing speed isn’t as fast as I anticipated; a 38-second clip took approximately 11 minutes to generate. While that’s significantly quicker than creating training videos from scratch, the prospect of making multiple videos might push me to consider alternatives like PowerPoint or Canva.
Of course, I might not be Colossyan’s ideal user. Kovacs reports that well-known brands such as Novartis, Porsche, Vodafone, HPE, and Paramount are already subscribing to the platform in its current form.
Kovacs attributes this success to features like integration with learning management systems and a "conversation mode," allowing two avatars to interact. Acknowledging the competition in the generative AI video space—including platforms like CommonGround, Synthesia, and Surge—Kovacs believes that Colossyan’s emphasis on interactivity and engagement will differentiate it from competitors.
Recently, Colossyan announced securing $22 million in funding led by Lakestar, with contributions from Launchub, Day One Capital, and Emerge Education. Kovacs plans to use this investment to triple staff across their New York, London, and Budapest offices and to develop new features such as branching videos and knowledge checks.
“Our platform is a scalable, cost-effective solution for C-suite executives and IT leaders addressing training and development challenges,” Kovacs concluded.
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