The Next Audiobook You Listen To Might Be Narrated By AI
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Summary
- Audible’s new AI-narrated titles offer publishers a quick, cheap way to convert print books into audio.
- There are already more than 50,000 AI-narrated audiobooks on Audible.
- Audible plans to expand with AI translation and launch a beta version for text-to-text and speech-to-speech translation.
Why pay expensive voice actors to narrate a book when you can create one out of thin air? That’s the thinking behind Audible’s latest move to help publishers convert print books into audio formats quickly and cheaply.
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Audible’s catalog of audiobooks is getting a major expansion thanks to new AI-narrated titles (via TechCrunch). The Amazon-owned company announced on Tuesday it is partnering with select publishers to offer synthetic narration using Amazon’s in-house AI technology. Publishers will be able to choose from over 100 AI-generated voices in five languages.
AI translation and expanded features on the way
Audible also plans to launch a beta version of AI-powered translation later this year. This will support text-to-text and speech-to-speech translation between English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. The company says publishers will be able to have these translations reviewed by a human linguist to ensure accuracy.
Audible introduced a similar beta program back in 2023 for self-published authors in the US. The program enabled authors to use virtual voices to convert e-books into audiobooks. The company also enlisted human narrators to help train synthetic voices last year.
Audiobooks are the fastest-growing format in publishing, according to Amazon. Many people prefer to listen to a book than to read, so it makes sense. But the process for converting a book into an audiobook has traditionally been laborious. Publishers need high-quality sound recording equipment, voice actors, and audio editors, at the very least. AI narration looks ready to upset the entire industry.
AI narration is already gaining traction
There are tens of thousands of titles labeled as ‘virtual voice’ on Audible. TechCrunch found more than 50,000 titles with AI narration. The feature is clearly being widely used by authors and publishers.
But the audiobook community is not always happy about this. Critics aregue the synthetic voices lack the nuance and emotion of human narrators, and this impacts the listener experience. Others feel this is just another step towards the complete takeover of the arts by AI.
Spotify also recently partnered with ElevenLabs to create AI-narrated audiobooks . Whichever way you feel about it, the future is clear: AI is here to stay.
