Plenty of people want to know where their global twin is or which famous actor looks like them. People might try to flatter you and give you an idealized answer. But here’s the thing. Chatbots are very honest and won’t worry about being rude. That means asking an AI often gives you a more realistic answer than asking a person. Finding a double is just a fun way to use technology for entertainment. It is better than the stranger AI trends we have seen lately, like those odd personalized action figures.
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 searching for a specific celebrity look-alike AI app, and I came across a few during my research. Then I realized I could simply 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.)
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Use ChatGPT as a celebrity look-alike tool
First up, you’ll need a few photos to upload. Aim for three photos of yourself facing head-on, with only you in them, so as not to confuse the AI tool. Make sure they’re clear and up to date. No sunglasses, filters or bad lighting.
I asked ChatGPT if it could do this directly in the chat, but it said it couldn’t help with face-matching because that’s considered 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 from various prompts that’ll either generate a single celebrity look-alike or multiple.
I started with one, just to test it out. I clicked on Find my most accurate celebrity look-alike.
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:
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:
What do you think?
When I redid the prompt and selected four celebrity look-alikes, 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)
- 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.