Let’s dissect the two keywords in the title: “AI voices” and “voice over.”

Voice over is a production technique in which a voice is recorded by an artist for off-screen use, often describing, highlighting, or explaining the context of what a viewer sees. AI voices are computer-generated audios that are supported by machine learning algorithms.

Voice over is constructed through isolated interactions. Voice over requires voice actors to record hours of dialogue, and a lot of manual work to process the voice. AI has brought a revolution in the voice synthesis industry. Audio creation is fast, human-like, and easily customizable.

In the voice-over industry, AI voices and human voices are competing.

How does AI add value to the voice-over industry? Will AI replace the voice-over industry completely?

You will get the answer below.

Voice over Industry

Voice over was started by Walt Disney in an episode of Mickey Mouse in 1928. In the beginning, it was extensively used in the film industry. The global voice over market today stands at 4.4 billion USD. While movies are still utilizing voiceovers, It is also being used in marketing, education, and audiobooks.

The voice over industry, since its beginning, has used human artists to record the audio. But developments in AI are astonishing.

For creating the documentary on the life of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, Morgan Neville used AI voice cloning software to bring the chef’s voice back to life.
In countless ways, AI voices have contributed to the voiceover industry. We have mentioned the four main areas where AI voices have filled the gaps in the traditional, human voice-based, voice-over industry.

Cost

Hiring a VO artist and getting the sound recorded by one can cost anywhere between $100 and $1000 for a 5-minute audio. AI voices, on the other hand, are far less expensive. Moreover, you will get features like grammar assistance, background music, etc. Hence, AI covers the other expenses as well.

Even if you want a specific human voice, Al-based Text to speech TTS tools have got you covered. You just need to provide a sample of the voice. And guess what, you will get the output in the desired voice and accent.

Scalability

TikTok has used text-to-speech features to create a business worth 50 billion. Tik Tok allows users to convert typed text into voice overs by choosing from hundreds of available voice samples. AI voices have no limit.
A human voice-over can be used only in small projects. Consider a feature video for a SaaS company or an educational podcast. But, the need for AI voices is unavoidable as the project size grows. Human resources are too difficult to be scalable. Hence, the voice-over industry is shifting towards AI based TTS for large projects.


Language

Brands try to expand their business globally. Marketers invest heavily in multilingual marketing. According to Statista, video marketing is expected to reach 815 million USD in 2022.
What TTS adds to the voice-over industry is access to 50+ languages with multiple accents in the pockets of content creators. Without AI, imagine how difficult it would be to find artists for each language, schedule the recording, and so on.

Ai Learning And Artificial Intelligence Concept.

Turn around time

Choosing a VO artist may be a time-consuming process. First, seek out VO production agencies or freelancers, then listen to their samples, and select one.
Scheduling and finding the right date while traveling also delays the process. All of this might take weeks. After paying hundreds of dollars for the voice-over artist, you still have to pay extra for distribution. However, with AI-based TTS  or Text to Speech, things become much easier. A few clicks are all that is needed for AI voice production. You can even share files on your website by embedding their audio player.

Is AI voice going to take over the world of voiceovers?

No doubt, the advances in AI have triggered a number of worries in the voice profession. Even multinational companies like Microsoft have started to offer voice generation as a service.

But, even in 2022, the market for human voice overs has not gone down. There is an explosive demand for voice overs for cartoons, audiobooks, podcasts, movie dubbing, and more.
The future of the voice-over industry cannot be predicted.

What we do know is that the feelings and emotions brought by the human voice are unmatchable. AI has not created an exact replica of it. The AI will process the human voice and create the audio output. But we do need the sample voice. Hence, the voice-over industry is never-ending.

The debate about whether we should replace human voice with AI voice is inaccurate. Rather, we should be smart enough to select the appropriate technology for the work at hand and optimize the creation of content and media.

Image Source: BigStockPhoto.com (Licensed)

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