• by Laurie Sullivan , September 25, 2026

Google on Thursday introduced a Gemini AI model that allows brands to create avatars. 

The product, “Live Avatar,” builds on last week’s introduction of "Gemini 3.8 Live," one of Google's latest AI models.

It integrates near real-time live dialogue by pairing the model with video generation and speech. The goal is to give companies “distinct visual identities to fit their brand,” Google wrote in a blog post.

The Live Avatar feature in the model creates an experience that listens, sees, and speaks with a dynamic visual persona.

In the blog, Google demonstrates realistic and cartoon-like avatars in videos.

The avatars act in a natural way and create multimodal conversations by using facial expressions while looking, listening and speaking in natural language with the user. 

The avatars are backed by Gemini's advanced reasoning, allowing Live Avatar to trigger calls for specific tools and receive data in the background while continuing an active dialogue. 

The company said it will offer a library of avatars for brands, or companies can customize their own avatars.

Those are only available through enterprise allowlisting, a cybersecurity practice where an organization compiles an approved list of applications, email addresses, IP addresses, or websites that are permitted to run or be accessed on its network.

Live Avatars are built with what Google calls "strict safeguards” that are designed to respect human identities and keep AI-generated content transparent. Each uses Google's SynthID watermarking technology. 

Google is positioning the tool as something brands can use to sell their products by creating conversational experiences, rather than a traditional ad unit, at least for now. It can guide product experiences and provide more information to users to make a better decision on purchases. 

The tool fits with Google's next generation of AI-based ads outlined in a blog post in May, where the company explains testing new ad formats in Search and expanding direct offerings to help brands connect with consumers. 

The format would begin with a consumer asking questions on a brand's website, followed by an avatar explaining or recommending products. 

A brand could run a display ad, for example, and make the ad call-to-action lead to a web page or an experience linked to the brand's Live Avatar where the brand could have a conversation with the consumer. 

Documentation also shows that Live Avatar could make live or integrate application programming interface (API), customer relationship marketing (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) calls while the conversation continues to get more information on the customer.