Synthesia Launches AI Roleplay Tool to Measure Training Impact

From video generation to performance measurement

Synthesia, the British AI startup known for generating corporate training videos, has launched an interactive coaching product that marks a strategic shift from content creation to performance analytics. The company's new Roleplay Sessions allows employees to practice high-stakes workplace scenarios—sales pitches, performance reviews, customer complaints—with AI avatars that respond dynamically and evaluate performance against customized rubrics.

According to details first reported by TechCrunch, Roleplay is the inaugural release under a broader "Sessions" platform that Synthesia plans to expand into job interviews and candidate screening.

Why it matters

The launch reflects a broader inflection point in enterprise AI adoption. As companies scrutinize return on AI investments, Synthesia is betting that the real competitive advantage lies not in generating training content faster or cheaper, but in proving that training actually changes employee behavior. By adding performance data and analytics layers, the company is repositioning itself from an AI avatar vendor into a talent management platform—a move that could create stickier customer relationships and more defensible moat against competitors using similar foundational models.

The practice gap in corporate learning

Synthesia CEO and co-founder Victor Riparbelli told TechCrunch that while video outperforms text-based training materials, most corporate learning programs—including the company's own core video product—stop short of driving behavioral change. "Video performs way better than text or sending out a document," Riparbelli said. "But for most things, we learn the best by actually practicing something rather than just reading it."

The company cites learning research indicating that practice combined with feedback is what truly embeds new skills, not passive consumption of information.

Enterprise traction and use cases

Synthesia has already secured early commercial deployments with major enterprises, including one of Europe's top three companies by market capitalization, a top-five Fortune 100 firm, and a leading global recruitment company, according to a company spokesperson.

The most popular applications center on sales training and leadership development—scenarios like product demonstrations or navigating difficult conversations. Much of the demand focuses on soft skills that are traditionally expensive and time-consuming to train at scale.

Customers can either build their own training programs using the platform or work with Synthesia consultants to develop custom solutions incorporating existing training materials and company-specific context.

The technical architecture

While Synthesia's avatar and voice synthesis technology is proprietary, the underlying conversational reasoning relies on OpenAI's models. By layering rubrics, scoring mechanisms, and performance analytics on top, the company is creating differentiation beyond the commoditizing foundation model layer.

"From a managerial executive layer, we're seeing huge interest in mapping out the talent in their company in a way that's been really difficult to do before," Riparbelli said. "If you have your entire sales team practice with an AI role player, you can get very granular data on how your sales force is doing overall."

Expansion plans

Roleplay is currently an enterprise-only offering, but Synthesia plans to make it available to small businesses, individual professionals, and potentially educational institutions within months as AI inference costs continue declining.

Riparbelli positions products like Roleplay as the next phase of enterprise AI, where measurable business outcomes matter more than impressive demos. The details were first reported by TechCrunch.