Hakuhodo DY ONE Enters into Strategic Alliance with KLleon
〜Offering AI avatars with sophisticated expressiveness embodying corporate brands to deliver next-generation CX〜

Tokyo, June 2, 2026 – We are pleased to announce that Hakuhodo DY ONE Inc. has executed a business collaboration agreement with KLleon Inc., the Japanese subsidiary of Klleon Inc., a developer and provider of AI avatar technology based in California. This alliance is intended to help clients grow their business by promoting the production and provision of AI avatars integrating the advanced technology of KLleon with the consulting capabilities and creativity of Hakuhodo DY ONE. This initiative was undertaken as part of the Hakuhodo DY Group’s cross-Group AI expert initiative HCAI Professionals.]

Background

The rapid advancement of AI in recent years has made the personally optimized customer experience (CX) essential in B2C communication. As a result, the introduction and use of AI avatars has been progressing as a means of creating interactive, emotional experiences for sei-katsu-sha* while keeping the corporate brand world intact. At the same time, businesses increasingly face the formidable challenge of deepening their relationships with customers by meticulously embodying their brand equity and brand world through natural, human-like expressions and emotionally appealing communication, and not simply treating AI avatars as one of the touchpoints with sei-katsu-sha.

With its proprietary real-time video generation technology, KLleon has become one of the world-leaders in AI technology, reconciling best-in-class ultra-low latency interactive dialogue, which has long remained unachievable with existing AI avatars, with highly accurate digital human generation including emotional and non-verbal expressions. The technology has been highly acclaimed across the world, winning certifications and awards both in and outside Japan, and has been adopted by many global companies.

Hakuhodo DY ONE has therefore reached a strategic business alliance agreement with KLleon, designed to combine the strengths of the two companies in offering AI avatars to create a brand-new type of CX. By fusing the track record, expertise and experience in promoting AI adoption of Magicx consulting^*1, Hakuhodo DY ONE’s professional consulting team, with the advanced technology of KLleon, we are able to offer AI avatars capable of producing quality immersive expressions while retaining designs in line with corporate brands.

Key features of our AI avatar offerings

• Faithful reproducibility
  We ensure high-quality reproduction of the expressions of celebrities, including their appearance, personality, voice and face. KLleon’s sophisticated AI technology offers a natural, fulfilling experience as if the user were talking with the celebrity in person.
• Personality design in line with brand strategy
  Rather than simple, automated responses, we build personalities who are capable of understanding the corporate vision and brand and behaving to help improve CX. We thus provide multifaceted support ranging from the development of brand strategy to the design, implementation and analysis of trademark phrases and ways of thinking that shape the personality.
• Building a safe and secure operational mechanism
  The guardrail function^*2 developed by the Hakuhodo DY Group serves to control inappropriate speech and behavior while minutely reproducing the value and brand image of celebrities and rights holders in the behavior of AI avatars. In this way, we deliver communications that celebrities and fans can enjoy safely.

Next steps

Hakuhodo DY ONE remains committed to promoting the production and provision of attractive AI avatars that can help improve the brand equity and sustainable business growth of clients, and to expanding the scope of collaboration with KLleon. We are also determined to accelerate the creation of new values, and to expand the scope of adoption for AI avatars through partnerships with leading celebrities in Japan and collaboration with a wide variety of companies.

* “Sei-katsu-sha” is a term we use to describe people not simply as consumers, but as fully rounded individuals with their own lifestyles, aspirations and dreams.

*1 “Magicx consulting” is a professional consulting team of Hakuhodo DY ONE that works with the consulting members of ReD. Inc. to provide DX consulting services by integrating strategy promotion skills and creativity. By combining our expertise in consulting with thinking and creativity centered on digital marketing, we provide end-to-end support from strategy planning to execution in areas including DX/AI adoption, business strategy and change management. Without limiting ourselves to ideation and planning, we accompany clients in creating customer values and proceeding with business transformation through decision-making and operational design, building on our insights into data and operations.

*2 “Guardrail function” refers to regulation and design to protect the integrity of celebrities by guarding against inappropriate speech.