Human Voiceovers or AI Voiceovers?
We live in a time of technology with endless possibilities. In the world of voiceover, this is no different and it can sometimes feel like we cannot keep up with the changes.
One of the latest discussions in the voiceover community is the arrival of AI voiceover, or ‘text to speech’ or ‘voice synthesis’. It is said that it is supposed to be more efficient, cost effective and versatile.
Like with most things that are new, most people will be somewhat sceptical at first and this is completely understandable, given the fact that voiceover artists have grown their businesses over many years by connecting on a personal level with clients around the world.
Let me start off by saying that I have thought about the arrival of AI voices for a while before I decided to write this blog. I have followed extensive panel discussions and have researched this topic. I went in with a very sceptical approach and was somewhat taken aback by the endless possibilities of AI voices and how this could impact the voiceover industry.
It all began in the summer of 2022. I was sat on a terrace in the Netherlands, enjoying the company of my long standing friend Roger. We go back several decades together when both of us worked as amateur broadcasters. Over the years we worked at several large radio stations together professionally and we always work collaboratively, sharing our knowledge and know how in building great sounding radio.
”I was very sceptical by the endless possibilities of AI voiceS”
While we were sat on the terrace, he mentioned the arrival of AI and how easy it would be for people to book a voice online, low cost and how this could affect how we listen to radio and TV commercials in the future. Roger warned me that I could be affected personally, when my business would see a drop in income because of it and that it may even be that my voice could be used in multiple ways. At that time, we did not get to talk about our voices being able to be translated into different languages by AI, which by now can be done by several apps on our phones.
Obviously, I have nothing against AI. In a sense, we have used it for a very long time. We expect Word documents to spell check, our phones to provide a suggestion when we type something and it can be really handy to create a social media post very quickly without a massive amount of skill.
The issue that arose in the conversation with Roger, and in the panels, hinges around usage and fair payments. The big one being that legislation is missing regarding the usage of our voices, which has already resulted in some voiceover artists having their voice used, whilst they never gave consent. This results immediately in them losing business.
Fortunately, there are dedicated people working to create legal protections for voice actors, and we hope these will be implemented soon. For a resource in the USA, check out the NAVA organization. In the Netherlands, the agency 'Voicebooking' published an insightful blog after conducting a survey.
All the “scary” stuff aside, I wanted to zoom into why I think there is absolutely room for the human voice and real personal connection. What I noticed with my repeating clients is how much we genuinely enjoy working together! This human aspect is simply impossible to copy by AI.
The personal touch of being able to connect with the audience is also invaluable. This input is essential for a voiceover artists to interpret and deliver an authentic and trustworthy read. An AI voice is not able to interpret feelings, so it can’t deliver those emotions.
Each person and each voice is unique. Therefore, I refuse to think in terms of “voiceover competitors”. It’s not how it works. A voice either suits or it doesn’t. For me, it is always most important that a client finds a voice that they really believe is the right one to convey their message.
It has happened many times before that I passed a script onto someone else who was better suited and other voiceover artists recommended my voice in the past to their clients too.
A very important point is to consider that human voiceovers can deliver a range of emotions and inflections, making them more versatile and capable of adapting to different styles and tones.
Voice actors are trained to take instructions and deliver a read that is slightly different in tone, or emphasis in order to bring the script to life.
“This personal aspect is what makes the voiceover industry one of the best places to work in.”
