When Chanel Turner-Ross, Head of Marketing at Utopi, talks about what AI has changed for her team, she doesn't reach for abstract claims about productivity or transformation. She gives you a number.
A 30-second resident-facing video. 300 organic views. Over 90 minutes of total viewing time.
Made by a team of two. Using AI.
That result - achieved without a video agency, a production budget, or a dedicated content team - points to something genuinely useful for operators who are trying to figure out where AI actually fits in their marketing workflow.
This is the story of how Utopi did it, what the results looked like, and what marketing teams can take from their approach.
Key Facts: Utopi's AI Video Results
| Production time | From approximately one week down to half a day per video |
| Languages | Multiple, including Chinese - reviewed by native speakers before publication |
| Viewing stats | 300 organic views; 90+ minutes of total viewing time for a 30-second video |
| Team size | Two people |
| Tool type | AI avatar video generation |
Why is multilingual resident communication such a challenge?
International students make up a significant proportion of residents across many operators' portfolios. Creating written guides, video tutorials, and onboarding content in multiple languages is time-consuming without a large in-house team - and most marketing teams don't have one.
The gap between what operators know they should be doing and what they can realistically produce is wide. Arrival guides, smart device tutorials, sustainability information, community updates - all of it lands better in residents' first language. But the cost and time involved in translation and production means much of it stays in English, or doesn't get made at all.
That's the problem Utopi set out to solve for their own resident communications - and the approach they landed on has direct relevance for the wider sector.
What did Utopi's team actually build?
Utopi used AI to create user guide videos for their smart building devices. These videos explain to residents how to use the technology in their accommodation and are available in multiple languages, with the whole experience accessible on a mobile-optimised website that residents can translate with a single tap.
"We now have mobile websites for residents which have these user guide videos. It can translate to different languages by the click of a button. The whole thing translates, but it's also a step-by-step troubleshooting guide on how to use these devices."
— Chanel Turner-Ross, Head of Marketing, Utopi
The logic is straightforward: meet residents where they are (mobile), communicate in their language, and make it self-serve so the operator team doesn't need to be hands-on for every query. Before AI, producing an English-language version of this kind of content took at least a week. With an established workflow, Utopi's team is now producing translated versions in half a day.
For operators managing international residents, that's not a marginal efficiency gain. It's a capability shift.
What does the human work behind AI video actually look like?
AI-generated video content requires significant human input to produce quality results. Writing scripts, choreographing avatar movements, editing, and iterating are all part of the production process. The AI accelerates output but does not replace the editorial judgement - or the subject matter expertise - behind it.
"There is an immense human element in the background to make it give you the output that you need. That's writing scripts, it's choreographing the script to the avatar movement. You're still editing and producing these videos."
— Chanel Turner-Ross, Head of Marketing, Utopi
Early videos - before the workflow was refined - took a full day each. Now it's half that, because the team knows what they're doing and has the right elements in place. This matters for setting expectations. AI video doesn't mean pressing a button and receiving a finished product. It means a small team can produce at the scale and quality of a much larger one, once they've invested in building and refining the process.
For the multilingual versions, Utopi sent content to clients with the relevant language capability before publishing - checking that the translated output was conversational and accurate. That review step is essential. AI translation is capable; it is not infallible.
What did the results actually look like?
A 30-second AI-generated video posted organically achieved 300 views and over 90 minutes of total viewing time - meaning audiences watched to the end, repeatedly. AI-produced video content, when well-scripted and properly directed, achieves engagement comparable to traditionally produced video.
"We always wonder - will people engage with the messaging if they think it's AI? And we had such positive stats come back from it. People do expect AI day to day. It's not unusual now."
— Chanel Turner-Ross, Head of Marketing, Utopi
The stigma around AI video content is real, but it clusters around content that is poorly made - rushed, generic, clearly produced without a human brief or editorial direction. Well-produced AI video, with a clear message and strong human intent behind it, doesn't trigger that response. Utopi's practice of being transparent about AI involvement - including a caption noting it - is good practice and has not negatively affected their engagement.
What can marketing teams take from this?
The Utopi example transfers well to most operators because the underlying challenge is the same: small marketing teams, high content demand, diverse international resident populations, and limited production budgets.
A few principles worth taking from their approach:
- Start with content that already needs to exist. Arrival guides, device tutorials, sustainability communications - these are materials most operators produce in some form. AI video is often a better format than a PDF, and the production lift is lower than it appears once the workflow is established.
- Build in a review step for translated content. Native speaker review is not optional for anything going out to residents. It doesn't need to be formal or expensive - clients, colleagues, or community contacts with the relevant language skill can help.
- Expect the first videos to take longer. Utopi's team took a full day per video early on. The investment in refining the process pays off over time.
- Be transparent. Audiences have become more accepting of AI-produced material, but noting AI involvement remains good practice.
Where should teams start?
The most practical starting point is to identify one piece of content your team produces regularly that would work better as a short video - and that you've been putting off because production feels too resource-intensive. Script it yourself, produce a first version with an AI avatar tool, and iterate from there.
That first video will take longer than expected. The second will be faster. By the fifth, you will have a workflow.
The teams making the most of AI in content marketing are not doing anything exotic. They're applying existing expertise - knowing what good looks like, knowing their residents, knowing what they want to communicate - to tools that make the production process faster and more accessible than it has ever been.
The combination of domain expertise and the right AI tools is where the results are. Neither works as well without the other.
About The AI Method: Oliver Harrison works with in-house Content and Marketing teams, helping them move from 'thinking about AI' to actually working with it. If you'd like to explore how AI tools could fit your team's workflow, find out more at www.theaimethod.co.