OpenAI has announced an interesting new feature for its TikTok-like Sora app. This feature allows users to add so-called "character cameos" (characters) to videos, which means you can turn your pet or even an ordinary object into a star. In OpenAI's promotional video, a talking owl says: "Anything can be a character." This gives users the ability to create content featuring their cats, dogs, chinchillas, parrots, or even a lamp, without having to undergo a full facial scan as with standard videos featuring people.
In the Sora app, which quickly climbed to second place in Apple's App Store free app rankings – right behind ChatGPT – you can now create these characters directly from photos in your phone's gallery. For example, journalist Ina Fried shared a video in which her cat fulfills her King Kong fantasy. This feature expands the existing options that allow users to create AI versions of themselves and share them with others if they permit it. The new feature comes with pre-made characters that can be used in videos immediately.
As promised, @OpenAI’s Sora now lets you add pets and objects as cameos. Here is my cat fulfilling her King Kong fantasy. pic.twitter.com/thgzhtloqw
— Ina Fried (@inafried) October 29, 2025
How characters and their settings work
Each character has its own permissions, separate from the user's personal likeness. You can keep it private, share it with mutual followers, or make it available to everyone in the app. OpenAI states in the release notes: "Give your character a display name and handle, and tag it whenever you want to use it in a video." This new feature was introduced on October 30, 2025, and builds on promises OpenAI made last week.
Introducing character cameos, now available in the Sora app. pic.twitter.com/k1R4FdCRPV
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) October 29, 2025
The feature makes it possible to create characters from original personas that users generate directly in Sora. It is not entirely clear whether characters from other AI tools can be uploaded, but OpenAI emphasizes that this is an expansion for animals, illustrations, or toys.
Stitching videos together and leaderboards
In addition to characters, OpenAI is adding the ability to stitch multiple clips together into longer, multi-scene videos in Sora. This makes it possible to create more complex stories in which characters appear in different segments. For example, you can combine a video of your dog running through a park with another one in which it appears as a superhero. The app now also includes leaderboards showing the most popular videos, most remixed creations, and most frequently used characters and users. This is intended to encourage greater community activity.
Intellectual property issues
OpenAI has faced intellectual property concerns since the launch of the app. Early videos depicted characters such as SpongeBob in controversial roles, for example as Walter White cooking drugs or in a Nazi style. This led to restrictions on third-party content. CEO Sam Altman said in an interview with analyst Ben Thompson: "If you create a funny image of someone versus an actual video, the video feels much more real and alive, and has a stronger emotional resonance."
By focusing on pets and objects, OpenAI is avoiding disputes with major media companies such as Paramount or Disney. People who are afraid to share their own likeness can now offer their pet without concern. As one Business Insider colleague noted, he would never share his own likeness, but he would share his pet.
Sources: businessinsider.com and theverge.com
