New Delhi: Google is revising its strategies to compete with viral short-video platforms like TikTok in light of its most recent acquisition. The dominant search engine has acquired Alter, an AI business that specialises in creating avatars with the aid of artificial intelligence.

According to rumours, Google purchased Alter for $100 million, as stated by TechCrunch. Although it said the purchase was made a few months ago, Google only recently made the announcement official. The co-founder of Alter also acknowledged the change by revising his LinkedIn profile. He updated his profile with the comment “creating avatars at Google.” (Also Read: OMG! A dentist uses her mother’s milk to make jewellery; buyers laud mementoes)

At least that’s what Mark Zuckerberg and the team at Meta want the world to think; avatars are meant to play a significant role in the future. Avatars are something that Meta is working to integrate into all of its platforms, including WhatsApp, and they might be a reality very soon. (Also Read: Good news for WhatsApp users! You can download PAN card, driver’s license, marksheet & RC among others; here’s HOW)

Another aspect of the industry that has emerged and demonstrated its promise is AI-generated content. There are websites that produce AI-based music, art, and even photographs. Technology has advanced to the point where you can now spell out specific terms and the AI will process the data to get the best results.

Given that its facial recognition technology is less sophisticated than Apple’s Face ID, this is an area where AI-based avatars also perform well for Google.

Avatars might also be included in YouTube Shorts, Google’s competition for TikTok in the short video market. We still don’t know how Google intends to accomplish it, but rest confident that the rumoured $100 million spent on purchasing Alter can only be seen as a forward-looking choice.

It would be interesting to watch if Google decides to keep all the personnel from the startup it recently acquired, or if it will decide to streamline the team to better fit its business strategy.