OpenAI just supercharged its Sora video generator with features that blur the line between AI and social media. The company's latest update introduces reusable character avatars - dubbed "character cameos" - that let users turn pets, toys, or illustrations into persistent video protagonists. Combined with new video stitching capabilities, these tools transform Sora from a simple AI generator into something resembling TikTok's creative arsenal.
OpenAI is making its biggest play yet to turn Sora into a social platform, not just an AI tool. The company's character cameo feature represents a fundamental shift in how AI-generated content gets created and shared, letting users build persistent digital personas that can appear across multiple videos.
The timing couldn't be more loaded. Just days after celebrity platform Cameo filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over OpenAI's use of the "cameo" name, the AI giant is doubling down with a feature that directly competes with personalized video content creation.
"Once created, each character comes with its own permissions, separate from your personal likeness: keep it just for yourself, share it with mutual followers, or open it to everyone on Sora," OpenAI explained in its latest release notes. Users can "give your character a display name and handle, and tag it whenever you want it to appear in a video."
This isn't just about AI deepfakes anymore. The character system expands beyond human likenesses to include pets, illustrations, and toys - essentially any visual element that can be turned into a consistent avatar. Think of it as Instagram's story highlights meets AI video generation, where your golden retriever or favorite cartoon sketch becomes a recurring character across your content.
The technical implications run deeper than surface-level fun. OpenAI is essentially building a character database that users contribute to and share, similar to how Meta's platforms leverage user-generated content. But the company remains vague about crucial safety questions: how does Sora distinguish between AI-generated fictional people and real humans? What happens when users upload characters created by competing AI tools?
