Digital twins are becoming one of the most useful AI technologies for modern businesses. They can help companies improve operations, create content faster, train employees, support customers and communicate across different languages.
A digital twin is a virtual version of a real object, system, process or person. For some businesses, this might mean a digital model of a machine, factory, building or supply chain. For others, it may mean a high-fidelity human digital twin that looks, sounds and speaks like a real person.
In this guide, we explain what digital twins are, how businesses use them, the main benefits, the risks to consider and how to choose the right digital twin solution.
TLDR: how are digital twins used in business?
Digital twins are used in business to represent, monitor, simulate or communicate something from the real world. Companies use them to test ideas before making real changes, predict maintenance needs, create AI avatar videos, train staff, explain services and improve customer experiences.
Common digital twin use cases include:
- Monitoring machines, equipment or buildings
- Testing operational changes before they happen
- Predicting maintenance requirements
- Creating AI avatars for sales, training and marketing
- Producing multilingual videos with voice cloning
- Improving customer support with chatbots and digital presenters
- Delivering consistent onboarding and training
- Modelling customer journeys and business processes
For example, a manufacturer might use a digital twin to monitor equipment performance, while a service business might use a human digital twin to explain services, produce videos and communicate with customers in multiple languages.
What is a digital twin?
A digital twin is a digital representation of something real.
It can represent:
- A product
- A machine
- A building
- A factory
- A supply chain
- A customer journey
- A business process
- A person
Traditional digital twins are often used in engineering, manufacturing, construction and logistics. These digital models can be connected to real-world data, helping teams understand performance, identify issues and test possible improvements.
AI has expanded what digital twins can do. Today, businesses can also create human digital twins that combine appearance, voice, language, scripts and approved knowledge. This makes them useful for video content, training, sales, customer education and multilingual communication.
If you want a more detailed explanation, read Nertia’s guide on what a digital twin is and how it works.
Digital twin vs AI avatar vs chatbot
Digital twins, AI avatars and chatbots are often mentioned together, but they are not the same thing.
| Technology | Main purpose | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Digital twin | Represents a real object, system, process or person | Simulation, monitoring, communication and content |
| AI avatar | Visually represents a person or character | Videos, presentations and digital spokespeople |
| Voice clone | Recreates a person’s voice | Narration, dubbing and audio content |
| AI chatbot | Holds text or voice conversations | Customer support, website guidance and FAQs |
| Traditional video | Records a real person once | High-value campaigns or personal messages |
A business does not always need to choose one. The strongest setup may combine several technologies.
For example, a business website could use:
- A digital twin to present key information
- An AI chatbot to answer visitor questions
- A clear website design to guide users towards an enquiry
For a deeper comparison, read AI Avatars vs Chatbots: What’s the Difference?.
Types of digital twins businesses use
Product digital twins
A product digital twin represents an individual product, machine or asset. It can help businesses monitor performance, test improvements and understand how a product behaves over time.
Process digital twins
A process digital twin represents a workflow or operation. Businesses use process twins to test changes, reduce waste and identify bottlenecks before disrupting live work.
System digital twins
A system digital twin represents a connected group of assets, environments or processes. This is useful for factories, logistics networks, buildings, energy systems and supply chains.
Customer digital twins
A customer digital twin models customer behaviour, journeys or decision patterns. It can help businesses improve user experience, personalisation and marketing strategy.
Human digital twins
A human digital twin represents a real person’s appearance, voice and communication style. This is useful for AI avatar videos, training, sales content, founder-led communication, internal updates and multilingual video production.
Nertia’s digital twin service focuses on high-fidelity human digital twins for businesses that want a credible digital spokesperson, voice clone or multilingual video workflow.
Digital twin use cases for business
1. Operations and process optimisation
Businesses can use digital twins to test changes before applying them in the real world.
This can help teams answer questions such as:
- What happens if we change the layout of a production line?
- Where are the delays in our customer journey?
- How would different staffing levels affect service quality?
- Can we reduce energy usage without affecting output?
- Which part of the workflow creates the most friction?
By modelling a process first, businesses can make better decisions with less risk.
2. Predictive maintenance
Digital twins can help companies monitor equipment and identify signs of wear, unusual behaviour or future failure.
Instead of waiting for something to break, a business can use performance data to plan maintenance earlier.
This is particularly valuable in:
- Manufacturing
- Transport
- Construction
- Utilities
- Energy
- Facilities management
- Industrial equipment
Predictive maintenance can reduce downtime, improve safety and help businesses avoid expensive emergency repairs.
3. AI avatars for business communication
A human digital twin can act as a consistent digital spokesperson for your company.
It can be used to create:
- Service explainers
- Product videos
- Founder messages
- Sales presentations
- Internal updates
- Website videos
- Training content
- Social media videos
- Customer onboarding guides
This is useful when the same person needs to communicate regularly, but does not have time to keep filming new content.
For businesses that rely on a founder, consultant, trainer or subject-matter expert, a human digital twin can help scale their presence without removing the real person from important conversations.
4. Video content at scale
Traditional video production takes time. You may need scripting, filming, lighting, editing, retakes and multiple versions for different audiences.
A digital twin can simplify this by turning approved scripts into presenter-led videos without requiring the person to record every version manually.
Businesses can use this for:
- Website explainers
- Product demonstrations
- Training videos
- Sales enablement
- Recruitment content
- Internal announcements
- Educational resources
- Multilingual campaigns
The value is not just speed. It is consistency. Every video can follow the same approved message, tone and brand style.
5. Voice cloning and multilingual communication
Voice cloning creates a digital model of a person’s voice. When used with clear permission, it can help businesses generate voiceovers, training content, product walkthroughs and multilingual videos.
A digital twin can combine a visual avatar with a cloned voice and translated scripts, helping a business communicate across different regions without recording each language manually.
This can support:
- International marketing
- Multilingual sales videos
- Staff training across regions
- Customer education
- Product onboarding
- Internal communication
To learn more, read Nertia’s complete guide to voice cloning technology.
6. Customer service and website support
Digital twins can also improve customer-facing experiences.
For example, a business could use a human digital twin to introduce a service, then use an AI chatbot to answer common questions.
This can help website visitors:
- Understand what the business offers
- Compare services
- Get answers outside office hours
- Find the right page
- Learn how a product works
- Move towards an enquiry with more confidence
The digital twin presents information in a more human way. The chatbot handles the conversation. The website brings the journey together.
7. Sales, onboarding and training
Digital twins can deliver the same approved message every time.
This makes them useful for:
- Sales introductions
- Software walkthroughs
- Customer onboarding
- Employee training
- Health and safety briefings
- Internal policy explainers
- Partner education
- Franchise or multi-location training
A digital twin should not replace personal judgement, but it can reduce repetitive explanation. Your team can then spend more time on complex questions, relationship building and tailored support.
8. Product and customer journey testing
Businesses can use digital twins to test how a product, website, service or customer journey may perform before launching changes.
For example, a SaaS business might model the onboarding process to find where users drop off. A retail brand might use customer journey modelling to improve product discovery. A service business might test different website flows before rebuilding key pages.
This is especially useful when combined with strong website design and development because the digital experience can be planned around real user needs.
Real-world digital twin applications by industry
Manufacturing
Manufacturers use digital twins to monitor machines, production lines and facilities. These models can help identify inefficiencies, predict maintenance and test layout changes before applying them to physical equipment.
Retail and ecommerce
Retail and ecommerce brands can use digital twins to understand customer journeys, model stock movement and create AI-powered product content. Human digital twins can also present buying guides, product demos and personalised video messages.
SaaS and technology
Software companies can use digital twins and AI avatars for product demos, help-centre videos, onboarding, feature walkthroughs and customer education.
A strong business website can bring these resources together and help users find the right information at the right time.
Professional services
Consultants, agencies, coaches and advisers can use human digital twins to explain their expertise at scale. A digital version of a subject-matter expert can present introductory videos, answer common questions and deliver educational resources.
Healthcare and education
Digital twins can be used to model systems, support training and explain complex information. In sensitive sectors such as healthcare, businesses must pay close attention to privacy, consent, security and data governance.
Property and construction
Property and construction companies can use digital twins to model buildings, sites and infrastructure. Human digital twins can also be used for safety briefings, project updates, customer guides and training content.
Media and content production
Creators, agencies and marketing teams can use digital twins to produce presenter-led content more efficiently. This is helpful when creating frequent videos, multiple variations or content in several languages.
Digital twin platforms and tools businesses commonly use
The right platform depends on what type of digital twin you need.
For industrial, operational and IoT-focused digital twins, businesses may explore tools such as AWS IoT TwinMaker, Azure Digital Twins, NVIDIA Omniverse or Siemens Xcelerator.
For AI avatar and presenter-led video production, businesses may explore platforms such as Synthesia, HeyGen and D-ID.
For AI voice generation and voice cloning, platforms such as ElevenLabs are commonly used.
For businesses that want a managed, high-fidelity human digital twin rather than a self-service tool, Nertia provides a bespoke digital twin creation service covering visual avatars, voice modelling and multilingual video workflows.
Benefits of digital twins for business
More scalable communication
A digital twin can present, explain or support content without being limited by one person’s availability.
Faster content production
Businesses can create more video and audio content without arranging a full recording session every time.
Better consistency
Approved scripts, messages and training materials can be delivered in the same way across teams, locations and audiences.
Improved decision-making
Operational digital twins help businesses test scenarios, compare options and reduce uncertainty before making changes.
Wider international reach
Multilingual dubbing and translated content can help businesses communicate with new markets more efficiently.
Stronger customer experience
Digital twins, chatbots and well-structured websites can work together to make information easier to understand and access.
Risks and challenges to consider
Digital twins can be powerful, but they need to be used responsibly.
Key risks include:
- Poor data quality
- Outdated knowledge sources
- Unclear consent
- Weak security
- Unauthorised use of voice or likeness
- Misleading AI-generated content
- Over-reliance on automation
- Low-quality avatars that reduce trust
For human digital twins, consent is especially important. The person being represented should understand how their digital identity will be created, stored, accessed and used.
Businesses should also make it clear when AI-generated content is being used and provide access to a real person when a situation needs human judgement.
How to choose the right digital twin solution
Before choosing a platform or provider, define the outcome first.
Ask:
- What will the digital twin represent?
- Who will use it or view it?
- Is it for operations, content, training, sales or customer support?
- Does it need to use real-time data?
- Does it need to speak multiple languages?
- Will voice cloning be required?
- Who approves the scripts or outputs?
- What data will the system access?
- How will consent and identity protection be managed?
- Do you need a self-service platform or a managed production service?
For a human digital twin, pay close attention to:
- Visual realism
- Voice quality
- Lip synchronisation
- Language support
- Content ownership
- Security
- Consent process
- Ongoing support
- Ease of updating content
How to introduce a digital twin into your business
Start small. A digital twin project is easier to manage when it begins with one clear use case.
Step 1: Identify a repeated task
Look for something that takes time, needs consistency or is repeated often. This could be training, product explainers, customer onboarding, service introductions or equipment monitoring.
Step 2: Choose the right type of digital twin
Decide whether you need an operational twin, customer journey model, process twin or human digital twin.
Step 3: Set clear rules
Define who owns the data, who approves outputs, who can access the system and how the digital twin can be used.
Step 4: Create a pilot
Test the digital twin with one audience, process or content type before expanding it across the business.
Step 5: Measure the outcome
Track useful metrics such as time saved, content output, support demand, training completion, customer engagement, conversion rates or operational downtime.
Step 6: Improve and expand
Use the pilot results to refine the digital twin before using it in more areas of the business.
Build a digital twin that represents your business properly
Digital twins can help businesses communicate more clearly, create more content and reach more people without adding unnecessary workload.
The key is to use the technology with purpose. A good digital twin should solve a real business problem, protect identity and data, and represent the brand professionally.
Nertia creates bespoke digital twins using high-fidelity video avatars, authentic voice modelling and multilingual video production.
Whether you need a digital spokesperson, a scalable content workflow or a digital version of a key person in your business, Nertia can help you choose and build the right solution.
Explore Nertia’s digital twin service
Frequently asked questions about digital twins for business
What is a digital twin in simple terms?
A digital twin is a digital version of a real object, system, process or person. It can be used to monitor, simulate, explain or communicate something from the real world.
How are digital twins used in business?
Businesses use digital twins for operations, predictive maintenance, training, sales, customer support, content creation, AI avatars, voice cloning and multilingual communication.
Is a digital twin the same as an AI avatar?
No. An AI avatar is usually the visual presenter or character. A digital twin is broader and may include appearance, voice, knowledge, behaviour, data and integrations.
Can a digital twin speak multiple languages?
Yes. A human digital twin can be combined with translation, dubbing and voice cloning to produce content in multiple languages while keeping a consistent on-screen identity.
Are digital twins only for large companies?
No. Large companies often use operational digital twins for factories, assets and supply chains, but smaller businesses can use human digital twins for videos, training, sales and customer communication.
Do digital twins replace employees?
Digital twins should support employees rather than replace them. They are best used for repeatable tasks, consistent explanations and scalable communication, while people remain involved in complex or sensitive situations.
What is the best digital twin platform?
The best platform depends on the use case. Industrial teams may need platforms such as AWS IoT TwinMaker, Azure Digital Twins, NVIDIA Omniverse or Siemens Xcelerator. Businesses focused on AI avatars, voice and video may need a managed human digital twin service like Nertia.
How do I know if my business needs a digital twin?
Your business may benefit from a digital twin if you repeat the same explanations, need more video content, want multilingual communication, manage complex operations or want to test changes before applying them in the real world.