When you're in the metaverse, you are generally represented by either a blocky or cartoonish avatar or a disembodied floating torso and a pair of hands. None of which looks remotely like you. But what happens when things become much more real? A number of companies are developing ways for you to create hyper-realistic representations of yourself for the metaverse, with your face, your voice and even the way you move. One of these is Metaphysic, a deepfake or synthetic media company, founded by Chris Ume, creator of the Deep Tom Cruise videos that took TikTok by storm last year.

From automating the creation of personalized videos to enabling new virtual customer experiences, these companies are deploying AI to help brands and retailers create engaging digital content. Brands and retailers are relying more and more on digital content -- which can range from product images for e-commerce sites to virtual try-on features to online videos -- to increase brand awareness, convert online shoppers, and boost loyalty. Video content is gaining particular momentum, with the number of times execs have mentioned the term during earnings calls shooting up in Q2'21. But given these ever-growing digital content needs, a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, conventional production approaches may not be sufficient for brands and retailers to deliver personalized and engaging content at scale. Enter synthetic media -- images, videos, sounds, or any other form of content that has been generated, edited, or enabled by artificial intelligence.

Editor's note: This story was updated Aug. 13 to correct the spelling of AI startup Synthesia. The past few years have seen artificial intelligence reach a tipping point, fueled by record levels of investment and the growing availability of training data. Yet what we see today is still only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI's creative potential. Various incarnations of synthetic media -- content generated or manipulated by AI, often through machine learning and deep learning -- have already started to be adopted for commercial purposes. These include virtual assistants, fashion models, and chatbots that synthesize text and speech, and we've also witnessed a wave of virtual beings, including computer-generated Instagram influencer Lil Miquela, KFC's virtual Colonel Sanders, and Shudu, the first digital supermodel.