NBCUniversal is experimenting with generative AI to create a digital avatar of one of its most recognizable late-night TV personalities. The virtual host won’t be telling jokes or interviewing celebrities (at least not yet), but the project offers a glimpse at how artificial intelligence could begin creeping into late-night.
The company is reportedly developing an AI-powered version of Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen, designed to guide viewers through the drama, feuds, and complicated backstories that make up Bravo's reality TV collection. The digital Cohen will appear in short explainer-style segments on Peacock, walking fans through key storylines and providing context about the latest developments across the network’s reality franchises.
NBCUniversal will produce video segments featuring Cohen’s avatar introducing curated playlists of Bravo content. Behind the scenes, AI will also help tag and organize episodes by identifying storylines, rivalries, and other connective threads that run across seasons and shows.
Cohen is an obvious choice for the experiment. As the longtime host of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and one of the most visible figures associated with Bravo, he has become synonymous with the network’s brand of reality television. An AI version of Cohen explaining the latest twists in franchises like The Real Housewives could feel like a natural extension of his on-air persona.
Are Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next to get an AI version?
The idea of a network deploying an AI-powered version of a familiar host inevitably raises a bigger question: if it works here, could something similar eventually appear across NBC’s late-night lineup? What could it mean for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or Late Night with Seth Meyers?
If the AI avatar proves successful in keeping viewers engaged and helping them navigate large libraries of content, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the company explore similar concepts with other personalities across its portfolio. That could eventually include NBC’s late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, or perhaps even a Saturday Night Live cast member.
Cohen’s AI avatar is essentially functioning as a guide by introducing clips, summarizing plotlines, and helping fans follow complicated reality-TV sagas. That kind of informational role is relatively straightforward for generative AI to replicate. The comedy of late-night TV is something else entirely, and that may keep Fallon and Meyers safe from getting AI'd.
Fallon’s playful delivery and improvisational skill are central to the appeal of his show, while Meyers has carved out a distinctive voice through sharp political commentary and written segments like “A Closer Look.” Translating those elements into an AI-generated performance would be far more complicated than summarizing a reality-TV feud.
Even if AI could convincingly mimic a host’s voice or likeness, recreating a monologue or interview would be another challenge altogether. For now, NBCUniversal’s experiment with Cohen appears focused on content discovery. But the initiative reflects a larger trend across the entertainment industry as networks and streaming platforms search for ways to use AI.
Odds that audiences would ever embrace AI versions of late-night hosts seems unlikely. Yet as the technology continues to evolve, it seems increasingly likely that artificial intelligence will find its way into late-night television in some form.