The Impact of AI Avatars and Voice Synthesis on Editorial Content and Audience Response: Evidence from UATV English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2522-1272.2026.88.5Keywords:
artificial intelligence, AI avatars, digital technologies, international broadcasting, YouTube analyticsAbstract
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence technologies into news production has introduced new opportunities and challenges for the international broadcasting network of Ukraine. In particular, the use of AI-generated avatars and synthetic voices is transforming editorial workflows and audience interaction to the content, yet empirical evidence on their impact remains limited. This study aims to assess the effects of implementing these tools at UATV English, Ukraine’s state-owned international broadcasting channel. Mixed methods for research were used, combining quantitative analysis of publicly available YouTube performance metrics with qualitative content analysis, as well as official information from the public relations department of the SE “IMBP”, – the owning company of UATV English Channel. The sample included editorial videos published before and after the introduction of AI-based production tools. Key indicators analyzed included: views, likes, comments, engagement rate. The results reveal measurable changes in quantitative performance indicators and editorial presentation formats following the adoption of AI technologies. Additionally, variations in audience engagement were observed between content featuring human presenters and AI-generated avatars. These findings contribute to the growing body of research on transformations in international broadcasting and journalism and offer practical insights into the opportunities and limitations of using AI-generated presenters in editorial content production.
Downloads
References
Banisar, D. (2023). Defining journalism: International standards (Technical paper). Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/tp-david-banisar-definition-of-journalist-2023-en/1680b3f15b.
Burgess, J., & Green, J. (2018). YouTube: Online video and participatory culture (2nd ed.). Polity Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1726989.
Carlson, M. (2015). The robotic reporter: Automated journalism and the redefinition of labor, compositional forms, and journalistic authority. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 416–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2014.976412.
Diakopoulos, N. (2019). Automating the news: How algorithms are rewriting the media. Harvard University Press. https://cs.unibg.it/verdicchio/Diakopoulos%20-%20Automating%20the%20News%20-%20chapter%201.pdf.
Dzholos, O. (2025, September 27). Морально-етичний вимір штучного інтелекту [The moral and ethical dimension of artificial intelligence]. Detector Media. https://detector.media/production/article/244459/2025-09-27-moralno-etychnyy-vymir-shtuchnogo-intelektu/.
Guzman, A. L., & Lewis, S. C. (2020). Artificial intelligence and communication: A human–machine communication research agenda. New Media & Society, 22(1), 70–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819858691.
Horodenko, L., & Shtelmakh, P. (2024). Digital and convergent development indicators for UATV English channel in 2022–2023. Obraz, 1(44), 7–22. https://doi.org/10.21272/Obraz.2024.1(44)-7-22.
Khan, M. L. (2017). Social media engagement: What motivates user participation and consumption on YouTube? Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 236–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.024.
Küng, L. (2015). Innovators in digital news. I.B. Tauris. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312268909_Review_Innovators_in_Digital_News_by_Lucy_Kung.
Lewis, S. C., Guzman, A. L., & Schmidt, T. R. (2019). Automation, journalism, and human–machine communication: Rethinking roles and relationships of humans and machines in news. Digital Journalism, 7(4), 409–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1577147.
Mori, M. (1970). The uncanny valley. Energy, 7(4), 33–35.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254060168_The_Uncanny_Valley_From_the_Field.
Napoli, P. M. (2011). Audience evolution: New technologies and the transformation of media audiences. Columbia University Press. https://www.academia.edu/62234082/Audience_Evolution_New_Technologies_and_the_Transformation_of_Media_Audiences.
Pavlik, J. V. (2013). Innovation and the future of journalism. Digital Journalism, 1(2), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2012.756666.
Price, M. E. (2003). Public diplomacy and the international broadcasting. Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal. https://www.academia.edu/32839895/Public_Diplomacy_and_the_Transformation_of_International_Broadcasting.
Seib, P. (2013). Real-time diplomacy: Politics and power in the social media era. Chatham House. https://www.academia.edu/127977825/Philip_Seib_Real_Time_Diplomacy_Politics_and_Power_in_the_Social_Media_Era.
Shtelmakh, P. (2026), “Impact of AI Avatars and Voice Synthesis on Editorial Content and Audience Response of UATV English. Table 1”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/dxfyk4s8s2.1. https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/dxfyk4s8s2/1.
UATV. (2025, February 28). Notice on the use of artificial intelligence technologies. https://uatv.ua/uk/povidomlennya-pro-vykorystannya-tehnologij-shtuchnogo-intelektu/.
Wilczek, B. (2020). Review of Automating the news: How algorithms are rewriting the media, by N. Diakopoulos. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(1–2), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699020923613.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
The data is stored at:
https://doi.org/10.17632/dxfyk4s8s2.1
https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/dxfyk4s8s2/1.
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Юрій Бондар, Павло Штельмах (Автор)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors published in this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors reserve the right to author their work and transfer to the journal the right to first publish this work under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows others to freely distribute the published work with mandatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication in this journal.
b. Authors have the right to enter into independent additional agreements on non-exclusive distribution of the work in the form in which it was published in this journal (for example, to place the work in the electronic repository or publish in a monograph), provided that the link to the first publication in this journal.
c. The journal's policy allows and encourages authors to post manuscripts on the Internet (for example, in repositories or on personal websites) both before the submission of this manuscript and during its editorial processing, as it promotes productive scientific discussion and has a positive impact. on the efficiency and dynamics of citing published work.
