How to automate voice acting work with AI

Voice acting can be challenging, but artificial intelligence can make it a lot easier to pursue this rewarding career. Using your vocal skills to earn a wage doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your vocal health by recording hundreds of hours of voiceover a month. Let AI help you to supplement your salary and introduce your voice and talents to the world. 

In this article, we’ll explore why you should be automating voice acting work, how to do it, and the benefits of collaborating with artificial intelligence. 

Why automate voice acting work?

Whether you’re a professional voice actor or producing a film, TV show, or audiobook, AI works with you to make life and work easier. While some voice actors believe AI is making it more difficult for humans to find work in the voiceover industry, there are many factors to consider when forming your opinion on the matter and deciding whether you want to automate your own voice-acting work.

AI currently performs voice work in sectors such as multilingual support, where an algorithm can translate the same message in many languages without the need for multiple voice actors. AI also helps companies to personally engage with their clients and customers in the form of phone systems, AI chatbots for customer support, and social media marketing. 

An AI voice actor can also be used to copy real actors’ voices, learning their unique tones, patterns, intonations, and emotional range to almost perfectly synthesize their speech for use in games, films, and TV. Many actors welcome this change and have signed off on their voices being utilized by AI for future products with production companies like Disney and Pixar. James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, signed the rights of his voice-over to Respeecher for use in future projects in the franchise. Speechify has the rights to Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow, and many other actors will surely follow suit. 

These deals come with monetary compensation, in the form of a one-off payment or future royalties from their voice being used. Even beginner voice actors just starting their careers can use this feature of sites like ElevenLabs to create more income and market themselves. 

The benefits of automating voice acting work 

There are several benefits to automating voice acting work with AI technology, not just for voice actors, but for casting directors and producers, too. 

For voice actors

For voice actors, using speech synthesis tools like ElevenLabs helps actors prepare for auditions, tweak their voice, and more. Inputting your voice or a script into an AI tool like ElevenLabs then presents you with options such as clarity, style, and stability, meaning you could use this to practice different emotions, get a better feel and understanding of what is needed for a particular script, and work on new voices based on the vast Voice Library. 

Voice Libraries are a useful tool for voice actors. Want to nail a certain character’s tone but don’t know how to begin? Find some text you want to practice, input it into Text-To-Speech Synthesis, and hear and copy the produced sound.

You can also clone your voice with Voice Cloning, allowing you to easily audition and send demo reels or audio clips to job listings. Simply input your speech into the AI tool with only a few minutes of audio and watch the magic happen.

For everyone else

For casting directors, writers, and producers, being able to pinpoint the exact kind of character voice you need is invaluable, and is made even easier with the use of AI tools. Input the script and listen to it in real time in the voice of the person you want to hire (or someone with a similar voice), and you can better understand if they’ll meet the needs of the role. 

Casting directors can also use clones of voices that actors have added to the Voice Library, ultimately paying the actor for the use of their voice.

How to automate voice acting work

Let’s explore how to clone your own voice (as a voice actor) for use in several projects with ElevenLabs. 

• Step 1: Sign up to ElevenLabs
• Step 2: Head to the Voice Lab
• Step 3: Choose “Instant Voice Cloning”
• Step 4: Clone your voice from a clean sample recording of over one minute featuring one speaker.
• Step 5: Use Speech Synthesis to generate audio clips from text in your cloned voice!

You can also download these audio clips to use any way you like, whether you want to practice listening to a script in your own voice, edit your voice, or send a reel to talent agents.

Take a look at the voice cloning demo below to see how this works:

Final thoughts 

With ElevenLabs, voice actors can spread their vocal talents all over the world by creating a Voice Clone, getting paid each time their voice is used, and automating their work to create a flexible work schedule that promotes their brand. 

Voice actors won’t be replaced by AI, and artificial intelligence is a very useful tool for voiceover artists to get to grips with a script, practice voices, and even audition. Combine your talents with technology to kickstart your voice acting career today.

Automating voice acting work FAQs