Bringing voice AI into the classroom with ElevenLabs

Voice AI can accelerate the rate of learning by enabling more personalized, interactive education experiences. Today, ElevenLabs is launching two complementary initiatives to add new dimensions to education: an access program for professors who want to use voice AI in their classrooms, and a voice agent built on Einstein’s archives that reimagines his thinking as an interactive learning experience.  

Impact Program x Professors

More than 100 educators across institutions including Harvard, NYU, Cornell, and UCL are already using ElevenLabs in teaching, coursework, and research. To expand access to voice AI, ElevenLabs is offering professors free access to its Pro tier, and the ability to provide time-bound access to students for specific courses and projects.

Voice AI adds a new dimension to education by introducing a more interactive and conversational approach to learning. From narrated course materials and accessibility tools, to conversational AI tutors and voice-based learning experiences, it provides educators with new ways to make learning more interactive and accessible.  

“Professors play a critical role in shaping how new technologies are introduced, understood, and applied,” said Mati Staniszewski, CEO and co-founder of ElevenLabs. “We’re excited to support educators to create more interactive and accessible learning experiences with voice AI, while opening up new opportunities for research, creative coursework, and student engagement across disciplines.”

All over the world, educators are already applying ElevenLabs’ technology in coursework and in research environments:

• Carolyn McGettigan at University College London has used ElevenLabs since 2023 in peer-reviewed research exploring how people interpret meaning from voices, including emerging work on synthetic speech and voice identity.
• At Stanford University, Daniel Rubin uses ElevenLabs in conversational AI systems and voice-enabled educational interfaces designed to make scientific and educational content more accessible.
• At Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Sharad Goel uses ElevenLabs to develop interactive voice-based learning tools that allow students to ask questions during educational videos and receive responses in the instructor’s voice, seeking to make complex topics more accessible to learners.

Educators across disciplines are also using ElevenLabs to expand creative and project-based learning opportunities for students. 

“The Professors Program represents an opportunity to break a barrier that often exists in how educators can design new AI-enhanced learning experiences while also bringing meaningful access to artificial intelligence closer to students. In many cases, innovation in education is limited by barriers to access, so having a program specifically designed for professors helps overcome that challenge,” said David Orlando Niño Muñoz, law professor at Universidad de los Andes. “From my experience throughout the program, I have seen how AI can support the development of student competencies while also transforming the broader educational workflow. Programs like this create the space for educators to explore those possibilities in a practical and impactful way.”

“…What stands out about the ElevenLabs Impact Program x Professors initiative is its genuine understanding of the academic ecosystem,” said Christie Shin, co-chair of the Creative Technology & Design Curriculum at FIT. “This program reflects a real commitment to foundational education - led by educators who are deeply invested in research, curriculum development, and student growth. The impact is already visible: student projects developed with ElevenLabs tools have been recognized in multiple prestigious competitions. The sky is the limit."

If you’re interested in joining the Impact Program x Professors, you can apply here.

Experience Albert Einstein’s voice and works 

Alongside the support for professors, ElevenLabs is also introducing the voice of Albert Einstein, one of the most respected professors of all time, to the Iconic Voices platform, and bringing his ideas and writings to life in a conversational learning experience.

Through a partnership with CMG Worldwide and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, home of the Albert Einstein Archives, ElevenLabs has recreated Einstein’s voice using proprietary AI models. Unlike traditional voice synthesis, these models capture the subtle nuances of human speech, including cadence, weight, and emotion, producing a recreation that reflects how he communicated.

“As the steward of Albert Einstein's intellectual legacy, we are committed to making his ideas accessible to new generations," said a representative of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Through this collaboration with ElevenLabs, Einstein's voice and writings can reach audiences worldwide in new and interactive ways."

“Einstein believed that education should train the mind to think, not just learn facts” said Mati Staniszewski. “By recreating his iconic voice and building an interactive AI experience around his scientific works, we’re helping to turn his archive into a dialogue that sparks curiosity and sharpens critical thinking.”

Einstein’s voice is now available in two places on the ElevenLabs platform: the ElevenReader app and an interactive experience built on ElevenLabs Agents.

• With ElevenReader, users can listen to books, essays, and articles narrated in Einstein’s recreated voice, including Relativity: The Special and the General Theory.
• With the Einstein AI Agent (click ‘Start a conversation’), users can ask questions, explore scientific concepts, and engage with Einstein’s ideas through real-time conversation, turning foundational scientific work into a more accessible and conversational learning experience.

Both experiences are available across multiple languages supported by the platform, including English, German, French, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish.

Einstein joins ElevenLabs’ growing collection of Iconic Voices alongside Richard Feynman, Maya Angelou, and Michael Caine, voices that have shaped science, literature, and culture worldwide.