David Bridges
Key Highlights
- New Feature: TikTok has introduced an AI-generated sticker option that combines user avatars with emojis.
- Douyin Influence: TikTok’s developments can be anticipated by observing its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, which has over 766 million active users.
- AI Tools: Douyin features advanced AI tools, including a text-to-video tool and various chatbots, which are not yet available on TikTok.
- Future Developments: TikTok is likely to expand its AI capabilities, following Douyin’s lead in live-stream avatars and eCommerce functionalities.
TikTok’s added a new AI-generated sticker option, which enables you to combine your avatar with an emoji to come up with unique combinations.
As you can see in this example, posted by Jonah Manzano, the new option enables you to combine your avatar, which you can also create in the app, with a selection of emojis.
You can then use that combined sticker in the app:
Which is an interesting application within TikTok’s broader integration of AI tools, and with parent company ByteDance investing billions into AI development, you can bet that more and more AI options will be coming to the app very soon.
As they are in all apps, but TikTok’s plans on this front are less known, because it’s primarily focused on China, and building AI tools for the local version of the app, called Douyin.
But if you ever want to get an idea of where TikTok is headed, you can look to Douyin. The app reportedly has over 766 million active users, and has become a key social and entertainment platform among Chinese users.
And in terms of AI features, that TikTok doesn’t have (at least not to the same degree) Douyin has the following:
- It also has a text-to-video tool, which enables the creation of short clips in-stream (it also has a separate app called “Jimeng” for this)
- There are also various AI assistants in the app, with the latest addition being a chatbot that connects to ByteDance’s ChatGPT-like Doubao
- There’s also a Yelp-like AI assistant that recommends restaurants and provides food reviews
These are some of the AI elements that are not available on TikTok as yet, which shines a light on the options that could be coming to TikTok soon, building out its AI capacity.
In addition, Douyin’s also developing improved live-stream avatars which are designed to mimic creators’ personalities and habits. TikTok has a form of AI avatars already, but this new wave of AI bots will be more customized and aligned to each creator, enabling influencers to stream to their audience 24/7, Douyin says.
At the same time, Douyin is also much more focused on shopping, and has become a leading player in Chinese eCommerce. It’s also expanded into food delivery, which is another area that TikTok may look to as it seeks to build out its own shopping elements.
On that front, Douyin recently began testing “Douyin Hourly Delivery,” which will use location services to ensure rapid deliveries to consumers.
So, again, this gives you some idea of the AI integrations that are likely coming to TikTok, and the other avenues that it could take to drive more AI usage, while also building out its existing functionality.
So on a broader scale, AI-generated emoji stickers are only a small thing, but they add another tool to the platform’s expanding AI capacity, which is set to become even more significant over time.
Which also means more AI slop, but that’s probably inevitable either way.
Troy Sanders
Maya Kensington
