Artificial intelligence (AI) software keeps getting press for breaking new ground. It shows the potential to equal or improve on skills we always assumed to be uniquely human. And AI voice cloning is no exception. Its ability to recreate unlimited new sentences that sound just like the speaker offers exciting new possibilities for businesses, marketers, and more.

But as with every AI advance, it also brings new concerns and ethical questions, including how to prevent bad actors from misusing it.

If you are curious about AI voice cloning—also known as deep fake voice—and want to know how it could help your business, you've come to the right place. In this intro, we take an in-depth look at the potential uses of voice cloning as well as some pros and cons. But first, let's look at what it is and how it differs from earlier voice-generating technology. 

What Is AI Voice Cloning?

AI voice cloning, the latest AI voice generation software, uses recording samples of an individual's voice. It analyzes them to create a complete lexicon of words. The words can then be combined to make new sentences that sound uncannily like the speaker's unique voice.

A cloned voice can be used anywhere that a realistic voice would enhance the experience of automated speech, such as…

• In text-to-speech (as opposed to speech-to-text) applications for reading websites, documents, books, instructions, etc.
• Alongside AI voice recognition software such as virtual assistants in the home to make the conversation more realistic 

How Does AI Voice Cloning Work and Why Is It Different?

AI voice cloning creates training data from speech samples from the person whose voice you want to clone. This could require reading dozens or hundreds of sentences to get high-quality samples. The AI software learns from the data by analyzing the patterns, rhythms, and sounds that make each human voice unique. 

The data is processed to generate a seemingly perfect match for your voice. Not only that but the words can be rearranged into different sentences, adjusting the sound for context and emotion, for example.

But how is voice cloning different from other voice synthesizing?

The potential for synthesizing a voice was demonstrated in the 1930s, and research into natural language processing began in the 1950s. It wasn't until the late 1970s that synthesized voices became widely available. 

But technology, processing power, and storage limited the vocabulary to the specific needs of how it was used. Plus, the voices sounded robotic and unemotional. 

Researchers continued to improve speech-generating devices to give a voice to people unable to speak after injuries or for developmental and medical reasons. The technology allowed users to combine words to create new sentences. 

Other devices used voice recordings to produce very lifelike speech, but they required a lot of work before using them. And the vocabulary still limited the number of words the user could say.

Apple and Amazon both bought voice synthesizer development companies to help them create voices for their new personal assistants. Apple launched Siri on the iPhone 4S in 2011, and Amazon launched Alexa 3 years later in 2014. Both use voice actors to provide their unique voices and AI technology to enhance the interactive experience. 

An anonymous MIT professor popularized AI voice cloning when he launched the non-commercial web-based AI voice generator 15.ai. The experimental software was able to generate natural-sounding voices from several media sources. 

But since then, voice cloning services have become commercially available to businesses and consumers, with several web-based companies now offering such services.

Commercially available voice cloning tools only require, at minimum, 3 minutes of sample audio to create a realistic and accurate AI voice of a subject.

How Can You Apply AI Voice Cloning?

When it comes to AI voice cloning, the possibilities are endless! Here are just some of the ways it's being used in different industries.

Publishing and Entertainment

Using voice cloning technology for voiceovers provides more flexibility, reduces costs, and saves TV, movie, and video game production time. 

Voice actors only have to record initial voice samples. That means the actor doesn't need to be present or even alive to… 

• Complete unfinished projects 
• Make sequels to animated movies and video games
• Edit phrases and add new voice tracks during post-production 
• Clone recordings of historical figures to add authenticity and accuracy to documentaries and period dramas

Likewise, publishers can use a single voice sample to narrate multiple audiobooks, drastically reducing the time and cost of producing them. This opens up a new market for celebrity-narrated audiobooks, increasing the potential number of titles available. TTS (text-to-speech) systems could allow readers to choose a favorite actor to read any of their audiobooks. 

Marketing and Advertising

Videos and Vlogs 

Marketers and advertisers can also use a single cloned voice multiple times and for different campaigns. While the cost to clone a voice may be high, repeated use will provide a return on investment, ultimately saving time and money. 

Content Marketing, Branding, and Advertising

There's no shortage of opportunities for AI voice cloning to improve content marketing, branding, advertising, and more…

Content Marketing: Voice cloning provides a new engaging way for the target audience to consume content, including website copy, blogs, marketing emails, and social media posts. 

Brand Messaging: The cloned voices of CEOs and business leaders can make unlimited brand announcements, helping to build trust and create a closer relationship with their audience. 

Customer Service: Use the voices of employees, executives, or celebrity experts for AI chatbots and answering services to enhance customer service for…

• Greeting customers and routing calls
• Providing product information
• Answering FAQs 
• Offering tips and tricks
• Troubleshooting problems 
• Answering customers' questions

Efficiency: AI voice cloning can save hours of low-skill and repetitive work when it's paired with AI writing software like ChatGPT. Together they can generate and read routine ads and promotional and informational material. 

This releases content marketers and copywriters for other tasks, such as selecting voices from a subscription service or database and editing the copy, video footage, and audio tracks. 

AI voice cloning significantly reduces production time and other added costs toward professional recording equipment and software. Especially when creating content with a remote team or an individual who is typically difficult to schedule production time with. It's game-changing!

Accessibility

Speech-generating devices help nonverbal people to speak. TTS systems enable partially sighted people to hear text so that they don't struggle to read it. 

Traditional synthetic voices used for these systems can sound monotone and uninteresting, but many systems have improved with digital voice sampling. As with audiobooks, voice cloning will further enrich the range of voices.

People who are showing early symptoms or are genetically susceptible to degenerative diseases such as ALS or Huntington's disease could clone and bank their voices for later use. “Donated” voices could also allow people who have been nonverbal since birth to communicate verbally.

What Are the Pros and Cons of AI Voice Cloning? 

Of course, like all AI technology, voice cloning has pros and cons.

Pros

Provides More Variety and Choices

AI voice cloning will enhance the listening experience and let consumers choose their favorite speakers from a menu of narrators. Alternatively, people could buy or subscribe to the rights to use a specific voice they love. 

Offers New Opportunities for Voice Actors

It will generate more demand and opportunities for voice actors, celebrities, and influencers. If voice actors are able to negotiate favorable propriety rights over their voice, voice cloning may be more lucrative for less time spent recording. This would free them up for more projects. In addition, the technology may generate more opportunities as the industry grows.

Encourages More Engagement with Marketing and Other Media

AI voice cloning will provide a new dimension, more choices, and improve personalization for the entertainment and marketing industry to engage and captivate audiences.

Can Save Time and Money

Voice cloning saves time and production costs, as the time spent on voice recording falls while opportunities to reuse cloned voices increase. 

Cons

Is Still Expensive and Time-Consuming

AI voice cloning is a significant investment, especially for smaller businesses. The cost of producing high-quality AI-cloned voices still requires hours of recording and production work. As with any new technology, prices are also high because of limited supply and initial development costs. 

The good news is that production costs will fall over time with improvements, automation, and more businesses jumping on the trend. 

May Displace Voice Actors 

Any technology that automizes the work that humans perform displaces labor or changes the nature of their jobs. It’s part of the debate about ChatGPT, and the same may be true for AI voice cloning. 

Instead of enjoying the benefits of long, predictable contracts and being guaranteed repeat work, voice actors may only need to attend one or two initial recording sessions. 

This brings uncertainty to voice actors' job security and ability to earn a living. A lot will depend on how… 

• Voice actors can negotiate favorable terms to compensate them
• Royalties are paid 
• Cloned voices are copyrighted
• Banked voices are traded 

Could Result in Fraud and Unethical Content

Voice cloning provides new opportunities to mimic individuals, loved ones, and public figures to commit fraud and produce unethical content that… 

• Embarrasses and blackmails politicians and celebrities 
• Tricks victims into paying ransoms, bribes, or coerced payouts
• Uses cloned voices to promote products or services without permission
• Gives up personal information, passwords, and account information
• Spreads misinformation and hate speech
• Makes voice recognition authentication ineffective

And this is already happening. For example, one voice cloning developer recently introduced new measures to prevent misuse of their technology after internet trolls cloned the voices of celebrities—including influencers on YouTube—and spread hate speech.

Incidents like this have led to calls to ensure that people have full rights and control over their voices through tight regulations and technological methods to detect, track and identify voice samples.

Takeaway

AI voice cloning opens new possibilities for various industries to capture their audience. For marketing, it provides another way to help improve the consumer experience. If used correctly, it could help to increase engagement, sales, and customer satisfaction. 

It also promises to create a new industry that offers media consumers more choices and a richer experience. 

As with any new technology, voice cloning raises new concerns about job security and how the technology can be misused for illegal or unethical purposes. This means the industry must face these challenges now before harm is done. 

As technology improves and the issues are corrected, benefits will become more apparent. For now, AI voice cloning offers exciting new opportunities to improve your content marketing and advertising that you may not want to miss!