Do you ever wonder what you actually look like or how other people might see you? A chatbot isn’t afraid to offend, so you might learn something new rather than asking a friend.
While finding your lookalike isn’t the most groundbreaking use case for AI, it’s fun and entertaining — and that counts for something. We’ve certainly seen worse AI trends, like that AI action figure.
If you’ve seen those “Who do I look like?” posts in the Reddit Doppelganger group, this is the same approach. You’re just asking AI, instead of random strangers on the internet.
Other unhinged ways to use AI include hugging your younger self, asking it for beauty advice, seeing how you’ll age, generating your future baby’s face, testing out hairstyles and trying on outfits.
I was on the hunt for a specific celebrity-lookalike AI app, and I saw a few in my research. Then I saw that I could just ask ChatGPT by uploading a few selfies into a specific GPT.
Be nice, ChatGPT.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Use ChatGPT as a celebrity lookalike tool
First up, you’ll need a few photos to upload. Aim for three photos of yourself facing head on, with only you in it, so as not to confuse the AI tool. Make sure they’re clear and up to date. No sunglasses, filters or bad lighting.
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I asked ChatGPT if it could do this directly in the chat, but it said it can’t help with face-matching because that’s considered as being facial recognition or identification, which it’s not allowed to do.
It can do this, though:
Boring.
But there is a way around this.
In the sidebar, click on GPTs. Type “celebrity” into the search bar.
Pick the first one, Find My Celebrity Look Alike. It’s been used more than 6 million times. Then press on Start Chat. It will look like this:
It’ll open a chatbox where you can upload your photos. Pick between various prompts that’ll either generate one celebrity lookalike or multiple.
I started with one, just to test it out. I clicked on Find my most accurate celeb lookalike.
This is what ChatGPT said:
I had to Google her, but I recognized her immediately. I asked the GPT for a side-by-side photo. This is when it got a little weird. It made a weird AI caricature of me on the left — I look like an alien:
Me on the left (though it’s been AI-ified by ChatGPT), Gillian Jacobs on the right.
I asked it not to change the photo of me on the left and to use the real image, but it made me look even worse with its AI-fueled adjustments to my face. So, I did it myself. This is the real image of me on the left and Jacobs on the right:
Me on the left; Gillian Jacobs on the right.
What do you think?
When I re-did the prompt and selected four celebrity lookalikes, Jacobs didn’t even come up. Here’s what I got:
- Amy Adams (casual/off-screen style)
- Carey Mulligan (indie film roles like An Education)
- Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt era)
- Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones-era)
When I Googled these four women, I didn’t see any similarities. ChatGPT got closest the first time, with Gillian Jacobs. It’s interesting how the AI used what I was wearing and my “vibe” when finding my doppelganger, not just my physical traits. I’d take it with a grain of salt, because things like posture and outfits don’t count.
ChatGPT did tell me I have a “mischievous vibe,” which made me smile. It also said I have an “all-American” appearance, which is hilarious, given that I’m Australian.
I’ll take it as a compliment.
I asked my wife if I look anything like Gillian Jacobs. She replied, “I can see it.”
Again, I’ll take it.
Nicely played, ChatGPT. Just don’t bother asking it to create a photo of you and your doppelganger, unless you want a good laugh at the messy AI caricature it creates.
