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AI-generated executive avatars are beginning to alter workplace communication strategies with leaders experimenting with digital versions of themselves to handle employee feedback, meeting preparation, and even investor communications.
At Klarna, Chief Marketing Officer David Sandström turned to an AI version of himself after navigating budget cuts inside the business.
During an ElevenLabs webinar, Sandström described creating what he called a “venting machine” that employees could contact to express frustrations without escalating tensions in meetings or internal messaging channels.
“I believe that people are probably quite pissed with me, and I would like to give them a way of expressing that without having to send me angry Slack messages,” Sandström told his team.
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The AI-generated version of the exec was intentionally designed to remain agreeable and apologetic while absorbing employee complaints.
But the experiment also revealed an ulterior reason around controlling "workplace communication" and taking up the slack during periods of organizational pressure.
“I just didn’t want to hear the whining in the meetings anymore,” Sandström said. “So I said, call this number, get it out of the system. When we then meet, we focus on the future.”
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Klarna has since expanded the concept further, developing a chatbot modeled on CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski that allows customers to call in and share feedback. The system was trained using his podcast appearances so the bot could mirror his speaking style and responses.
Other major companies are now exploring similar approaches. At Uber, employees are reportedly using an AI-generated version of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to rehearse presentations and strategy pitches ahead of meetings with leadership.
“They basically make the presentation to the Dara AI as a prep for making a presentation to me,” Khosrowshahi said on The Diary of a CEO podcast. “They have Dara AI to tune their prep.”
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Meanwhile, Meta is reportedly building a photorealistic AI avatar of CEO Mark Zuckerberg so employees can interact with a digital version of the company founder while reducing the need for some meetings.
AI avatars enter executive communication
The use of executive AI clones is also extending beyond internal workforce management and into investor relations.
Customers Bank CEO Sam Sidhu recently used an AI-generated replica of himself during the bank’s first-quarter earnings call with analysts.
“The prepared remarks you heard on my behalf today were delivered by my AI clone, not read by me,” Sidhu said during the call.
The emergence of executive AI avatars introduces new questions around leadership visibility, authenticity, employee trust, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in workplace communication. For some employees, one version of the CEO is more than enough.
But what began as an experiment in handling employee gripes is quickly becoming a broader test of how organizations manage access to leadership itself and may unintentionally be putting even more distance between decision makers and employees.
