From boardrooms to avatars: CEOs embrace AI for earnings calls | Mint

In a striking performance of the growing influence of artificial intelligence in corporate communication, a number of high-profile drivers began to deploy AI-generated avatars to deliver their quarterly results from their companies, according to a TechCrunch report. This week, Klarna and Zoom joined the ranks of firms experimenting with digital doubles, which have a possible shift in how investors and analysts are involved with corporate leadership, the publication added. You might be interested in the Swedish buy-now-pay-pay giant Klarna a video of 83 seconds with an AI version of his co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, promoted to reveal the financial performance of the Q1 2025. The digital Siemiatkowski addressed viewers with the opening rule, ‘It is I, or rather my AI Avatar. Klarna, who was transparent about the integration of AI into its operations, recently attributed part of its reduction of workforce to efficiency obtained from investment in machine learning. During Zoom’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO Eric Yuan proposed a new turn by presenting part of the report by a digital avatar created with the company’s own AI companion instrument. “I use our customized avatars for zoom clippings with AI Companion to deliver my portion of the earnings update,” the lifelike avatar announced. A subtle watermark indicated that the video segment was generated using Zoom’s AI technology. Yuan later joined the live Q&A session personally, where he shared his excitement about the virtual avatar and hinted that such ai-powered representations could soon play a greater role in business communication. These developments underline an emerging trend among technological leaders who are eager to demonstrate their organizations’ AI competence, not only in product development, but in investor relations with high visibility. As digital avatars mature, they can allow managers to attend several opportunities simultaneously, ensure consistent messages and even work in different time zones without having physical presence – which has managed a new era of ‘digital twins’.