Skits with a cast of one
Play every part yourself, then swap each take into a different character. Your timing and delivery carry the joke; the character carries the look.
AI character swap for your own video
Film it once as yourself, then become someone else. Upload a clip of up to 60 seconds, choose a character from your library or from a few photos, and the same performance comes back with a different person in it.
7 day free trial·Plans from $9/month · Credits you buy never expire
Join 690+ creators making AI video
The same clip, before and after. Both people are AI-generated, and the original voice and movement are kept.
Your performance, someone else on screen
Swap the character in your video, keep everything else as filmed
AI character swap works on a video you upload: pick a character, and the person in the clip is replaced by your character. This is not a generated scene that approximates your video. It is your video, with the person replaced.
- The performance.
- Motion, gestures and timing as filmed.
- The camera.
- Framing, movement and shot composition.
- The scene.
- Room, lighting and props.
- The audio.
- Your original track, re-attached bit-for-bit unchanged.
- The speech.
- The mouth follows the original words, so it stays in sync.
- The format.
- The aspect ratio you shot in, at 1080p on the short side.
Character Swap
Your video
rooftop-take.mp4 · 0:08Who should they become?
A characterA photo
I own this video or have permission to use it.
Estimated cost
~172 credits Example
How it works
How AI character swap works
Our AI video model keeps the motion, camera and timing of your clip and replaces who is on screen. Four steps, one screen.
- Step 1
Upload your clip
MP4, MOV or WebM, 3 to 60 seconds, up to 100 MB. It should be your own footage, or footage you have the rights to use. Any aspect ratio works and the output keeps whichever one you started with. The credits per second show before you upload.
- Step 2
Choose who they become
Pick a character you have already saved, one of the presets, or upload a photo of the character you want on screen: one clear, face-on photo works, and up to two more angles get a closer match. The same saved character can be reused across clips so a series stays consistent.
- Step 3
Add a note and confirm your rights
Optionally say what to keep or change, such as "keep the glasses, give them a denim jacket". Then confirm you own the video or have permission to use it, and press Swap character.
- Step 4
Render and download
The person is replaced and everything else is left alone. It takes a few minutes rather than seconds, because every frame is regenerated. Output is 1080p on the short side at 30 fps, in the aspect ratio you filmed.
Before you film
How to swap characters in video and get a clean result
The swap keeps what you filmed, so the clip you upload decides most of the result. These are the things that make a take swap well.
One person, clearly visible
Character swap works best with one clearly visible person in the shot. There is no control for choosing which of several people gets replaced, so frame the take around the one person you want to swap.
A steady shot
A tripod or a steady handheld take gives the cleanest result. The camera move is kept as filmed, so a shaky clip comes back just as shaky, with a new person in it.
Light the face evenly
Soft, even light on the face and body makes it easier to read the expression and movement the character has to match. Avoid filming straight into a window or with half the face in shadow.
Keep the subject in frame
Frame the take so the person stays in shot from start to finish. The tool can swap just the first part of a clip, so if the part you want is in the middle, cut it out in your phone's editor before you upload.
Start short, then go long
Clips run from 3 to 60 seconds. Anything over 15 seconds is swapped in parts and joined back together, so test the look on a short take first, then run the full clip once you like the character.
Use a face-on reference photo
When you swap to a photo rather than a saved character, one clear, face-on photo works. Add up to two more angles, such as a side view or full body, for a closer match.
Say what to keep
The optional note takes up to 400 characters. Use it for the details you care about: "keep the glasses", "give them a denim jacket", "keep the watch on the left wrist".
Record the audio you want to keep
Your original sound is re-attached exactly as recorded, so the voice in the take is the voice in the finished video. Record clean audio on the day; a character swap will not change or re-voice it.
Use cases
AI character swap video ideas for creators and brands
One performance, a different person on screen. These are the formats it fits best.
Ads with one brand character
Film the ad read yourself and swap in the same saved brand character every time, so each new ad has the same face. Run the swap again with a different character to compare presenters on the same take. More in AI UGC video.
Localise the presenter, keep the take
Run the same footage with presenters suited to different audiences, without booking a second shoot for each one. For a polished corporate read, see the AI spokesperson video page.
Storytelling channels
Tell the story on camera yourself and publish it as a narrator character who suits the channel. The pauses, gestures and voice stay yours.
Stay off camera without losing the performance
Some people are good on camera and would rather not be recognisable on it. Film it yourself, publish as a character, keep your own delivery. It suits a faceless YouTube channel that still wants a host.
A recurring character who is actually you
Save the character once and reuse it. Every episode has the same face and your timing underneath it, which is what makes a series feel like a series. Building a persona from scratch? Try the AI influencer generator.
Want a TikTok made from a one-line idea rather than your own footage? Use the TikTok video generator.
Who they become
Build a character once, reuse it in every character swap
Create a character from a description or up to five reference photos and save it to your library. Then pick it in Character Swap each time you film, so every episode of a series has the same face over your own delivery. Building a recurring persona? See the AI influencer generator.
- Describe it or upload it.
- Reference photos lock the face to look like them.
- Saved for reuse.
- The same character is there for the next clip, and the one after.
- Or just bring photos.
- Skip the library and swap to a photo: one face-on shot, plus up to two more angles.
Create Character
- 4Save
Describe your character
ExampleA warm, confident presenter in her late twenties, soft studio light, cream knit sweater, looking straight at the camera.
Reference images
Optional, locks the face to look like these
Pick your portrait
Pick a voice
Warm Narrator
Calm, storytelling, perfect for explainer videos
Name & save
Name
Maya
Back Save Character
The Create character wizard
How to create a reusable character for character swap videos
A saved character is what keeps a series consistent: the same face on every clip, with your performance underneath. The wizard has four steps.
- Step 1
Describe your character
Write who they are: age, look, clothes, setting. Add reference images if you want the face to look like a particular person or design; the wizard uses them to lock the face.
- Step 2
Pick your portrait
Choose the portrait that matches what you had in mind from the ones generated for you. That portrait is the face your swaps will use.
- Step 3
Pick a voice
The wizard asks for a voice so the character works across the app. A character swap keeps your original audio, so this choice does not change a swap.
- Step 4
Name and save
Save it to your library. From then on it sits in the Character Swap picker, ready for every new clip. Starting from a swap? "Create your own" opens the wizard and brings your clip back when you are done.
Know the difference
Character swap vs face swap vs deepfake
Three terms that get used as if they mean the same thing. They don't, and the difference decides what you can make and what you can post.
What this page does
Character swap
- What gets replaced
- The whole person: face, hair, body and clothes become the character you pick. Every frame is regenerated.
- What stays
- The motion, camera, scene and original audio. The mouth follows the original words.
- Whose footage
- Your own clip, or one you have permission to use, with the right to the likeness you swap in.
- Where MakeAIVideo stands
- This is the product, included on every plan.
A narrower edit
Face swap
- What gets replaced
- Only the face. The hair, body, clothes and voice of the original person stay.
- What stays
- Everything except the face, so the rest of the person is still recognisable.
- Whose footage
- The same rule applies: footage and faces you have the right to use.
- Where MakeAIVideo stands
- Not offered as a separate tool. Character swap replaces the whole person instead.
A use, not a tool
Deepfake
- What it is
- Under the EU AI Act, a deep fake is AI-generated or manipulated content that resembles existing persons and would falsely appear to a person to be authentic or truthful.
- The harm
- Making a real, identifiable person appear to say or do something they did not.
- Whose footage
- Usually someone who never agreed to it. That is the line.
- Where MakeAIVideo stands
- Not permitted. Using Character Swap to impersonate or deceive anyone breaches our terms of service.
Consent and labelling
Character swap consent: footage you have the right to use
Before each render you confirm that you own the video or have permission to use it, that you have the right to use the likeness you are swapping in, and that you will not use it to impersonate or deceive anyone. That is a condition of use, not a formality: using this to misrepresent a real person breaches our terms of service.
“I own this video or have permission to use it, and I have the right to use the likeness I'm swapping in. I won't use this to impersonate or deceive anyone.”
When you post a swap, the platform rules apply too
YouTube
YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content, including content that makes a real person appear to say or do something they didn't do, or a realistic scene that didn't actually occur.
TikTok
TikTok's synthetic media policy requires people to label AI-generated content that contains realistic images, audio or video, and gives creators a label to do it.
Instagram and Facebook
Meta requires people to use its AI disclosure tool when they post photorealistic video that was digitally created or altered, and says it may apply penalties if they don't.
EU AI Act
Article 50 says those who use an AI system to generate or manipulate content that is a deep fake shall disclose that it has been artificially generated or manipulated.
Swapping yourself into an obviously fictional character is the easy case. The closer a swap gets to looking like a real, identifiable person, the more these rules matter. Our AI disclosure covers what that means when you publish.
Connect your AI agent
Character swap in the app, posted from your AI assistant
Character Swap runs in the app. When the swapped clip is ready, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok or any MCP client can post it to your connected accounts, with an AI label in the caption if you ask for one.
- Connect your AI assistant.
- Add MakeAIVideo to Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Claude Code, Cursor or any app that supports MCP with one address. You sign in once; there is no API key to paste.
- Ask in plain English.
- “Post my swapped rooftop take to TikTok and YouTube on Friday at 5pm, with #AIgenerated in the caption.”
- It finds the swapped take.
- It pulls the finished video from your library; the swap is not run again.
- It posts on your schedule.
- It confirms the accounts and the caption with you first, then posts to any of the 11 platforms you have connected.
MCP, API and CLI use the same credits and the same balance as the app.
Worked examples
AI character swap video cost, second by second
Every swap costs about 22 credits a second, all in. The tool shows the credits per second before you upload, the exact cost once it has read your clip, and how much of the clip your balance covers. If a clip is over budget, use just its first part instead.
Cost by clip length
| Clip | Working | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 3 sThe shortest clip you can swap | 3 × 22 | About 66 |
| 10 sA quick test of a new character | 10 × 22 | About 223 |
| 15 sSwapped in one pass | 15 × 22 | About 325 |
| 30 sA typical short-form video | 30 × 22 | About 660 |
| 60 sThe longest clip, swapped in parts and joined | 60 × 22 | About 1,320 |
Credits on each plan
Monthly credits, reset each billing month. The trial is a one-off.
- 7-day free trial350 credits
- Lite $9/mo600 credits
- Solo $19/mo1,100 credits
- Plus $29/mo1,750 credits
- Pro $49/mo3,000 credits
Plan credits reset monthly and don't roll over. Run out? Add credits any time, from $5; credits you buy never expire and stack on top. Full details on MakeAIVideo pricing.
Pricing
AI character swap pricing
About 22 credits per second of video, all in: a 15 second clip is about 325 credits and a full 60 seconds about 1,320. Character Swap comes with every plan rather than being gated to a higher tier, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
Lite
The easy start. Every tool, one creator.
$9/mo
or $99 a year, 1 month free
600credits every month
Use them on any tool below
7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.
- Post and schedule to 2 social accounts
- Videos up to 10 minutes
- 1080p export, never a watermark
- 1 user
Solo
For one creator posting every week.
$19/mo
or $190 a year, 2 months free
1,100credits every month
Use them on any tool below
7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.
- Post and schedule to 4 social accounts
- Videos up to 10 minutes
- 1080p export, never a watermark
- 1 user
Most popularStart 7 day free trial
Plus
Long-form, your branding and a team of three.
$29/mo
or $290 a year, 2 months free
1,750credits every month
Use them on any tool below
7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.
- Post and schedule to 6 social accounts
- Stock-footage videos up to 40 minutes
- Brand Kit: your logo on every video
- 3 team seats with admin and member roles
Pro
For teams and channels running at volume.
$49/mo
or $490 a year, 2 months free
3,000credits every month
Use them on any tool below
7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.
- Post and schedule to 10 social accounts
- Stock-footage videos up to 40 minutes
- Brand Kit: your logo on every video
- 10 team seats with admin and member roles
Run out in a busy month? Add credits any time, from $5. Credits you buy never expire. See pricing
Every plan includes
- Captions, music and studio-quality voices, free on every video
- Full HD 1080p export, never a watermark
- Post and schedule to 11 platforms
- Video in 24 languages
- API, MCP server and CLI for ChatGPT, Claude or any AI agent
AI character swap FAQs
Clip length, cost, audio, labelling and whose footage you can use, before you upload a take.
Something else? Visit the help center
What is AI character swap?
You upload a video of a person and choose a character to replace them with. The motion, gestures, camera work, background and original audio all stay as filmed; only the person changes.
How do I swap characters in a video with AI?
Upload the clip (MP4, MOV or WebM, 3 to 60 seconds), then choose who they should become: a character from your library, a preset, or a photo. Optionally add a note on what to keep or change, confirm you own the video or have permission to use it, and press Swap character. The person in the clip is replaced by your character, and the motion, camera, scene and original audio stay as filmed.
How long can the video be?
Between 3 and 60 seconds, up to 100 MB, as MP4, MOV or WebM. Clips longer than 15 seconds are processed in parts and joined back together. If your clip is longer than 60 seconds, you can swap just the first part of it.
What does character swap cost?
About 22 credits per second of video, all in. A 10 second clip is about 223 credits, a 15 second clip about 325 and a 60 second clip about 1,320. Character Swap comes with every plan, and the app shows the exact credit cost before you swap.
Is AI character swap the same as a face swap?
No. A face swap pastes one face over another and leaves the rest of the person alone. Character swap replaces the whole person in the clip with the character you pick, and every frame is regenerated. It is built for swapping yourself, or footage you have the rights to, into a character, not for putting a real person's face on someone else.
Is character swap a deepfake?
Not when you use it as intended. A deepfake makes a real person appear to say or do something they did not. Character swap is for replacing yourself, or someone who has agreed, with a character, and you confirm before every render that you will not use it to impersonate or deceive anyone.
Can I swap the character in any video?
Any clip from 3 to 60 seconds and up to 100 MB, as MP4, MOV or WebM, in any aspect ratio, as long as it is your own footage or you have permission to use it. The output keeps the aspect ratio you uploaded. It works best with one clearly visible person and a steady shot.
Can I swap more than one person in a clip?
Character swap is built for one person on screen. There is no control for choosing which of several people is replaced, so it works best when the clip has one clearly visible person.
Which AI model does character swap use?
Our own video-to-video AI model, which keeps the motion, camera and timing of your clip and replaces who is on screen. Each pass covers up to 15 seconds, which is why longer clips are swapped in parts and joined.
What is the cheapest way to try it?
Start the 7-day free trial, which includes 350 credits on any plan. A 3 second test swap is about 66 credits. The cost shows before you upload, and you can trim the clip to fit your balance.
Do I need a photo, or can I use a saved character?
Either. Use a character already in your library, pick a preset, or upload a photo of the character you want: one clear, face-on photo works, and up to two more angles get a closer match. Saving the character means you can reuse the same face across a whole series.
Can I keep the glasses, clothes or other details?
Use the optional "Anything to keep or change?" note, up to 400 characters, for example "keep the glasses, give them a denim jacket".
Does the audio change?
No. Your original audio track is re-attached to the finished video exactly as recorded, bit for bit. Nothing is regenerated or re-voiced, and the mouth follows the original speech so it stays in sync.
Whose footage am I allowed to upload?
Your own, or footage you have permission to use, with the right to use the likeness you are swapping in. You confirm this before each render. Using it to impersonate or deceive anyone is not permitted under our terms.
Do I have to label a character swap video when I post it?
If it looks realistic, plan on it. YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content, TikTok requires a label on realistic AI-generated content, and Meta requires its AI disclosure tool for photorealistic video that was digitally created or altered. Our AI disclosure covers what that means when you publish.
How long does a render take?
A few minutes rather than seconds, because every frame is regenerated rather than filtered. Longer clips take longer.
What aspect ratio does it output?
The same one you uploaded. Vertical 9:16, landscape 16:9 and square 1:1 all work, rendered at 1080 pixels on the short side at 30 fps.
How is character swap different from an AI talking avatar?
Character swap starts from a video you film, and keeps your movement and your voice. An AI talking avatar starts from a script you type and has a presenter read it, so nobody has to film anything. To bring a still photo to life instead, use image to video.
More ways to make AI character videos
Character swap guides and further reading
AI influencer prompt library50 prompts built to keep the same character consistent post after post.Browse the AI influencer prompts
Faceless YouTube channel examples18 real faceless channels grouped by format, and why each format works.See the faceless channel examples
HeyGen alternatives10 avatar and presenter tools tested on the same brief, with sourced pricing.Compare the HeyGen alternatives
AI UGC videoCreator-style ads with a presenter you choose.Make AI UGC video ads
AI spokesperson videoA polished presenter for product and company videos.Make an AI spokesperson videoReady for your first character swap?
Start a 7-day free trial with 350 credits. A 3 second test swap is about 66 credits, and plans start at $9 a month.