MasterClass brings AI instructors to life with ElevenLabs

MasterClass’ mission has always been to democratize access to the world’s best. With MasterClass On Call, users can now learn in a new format, engaging in real-time voice conversations with the AI versions of world-renowned instructors such as Gordon Ramsay, Mark Cuban, and Chris Voss.

The experience transforms instructors into trusted coaches - providing personalized guidance so you can communicate with confidence and own every career-defining moment.

Why MasterClass partnered with ElevenLabs

MasterClass’ core video lessons have inspired millions, but learners have always expressed a desire to continue engaging beyond the videos and ask their instructors questions to apply concepts directly. MasterClass started testing out a chat interface where users could message their AI instructors to receive instant, personalized feedback.

However, as users asked for deeper, more personal engagement with their instructors, it became clear that while chat offered convenience, it lacked the “magic” of real conversation - so MasterClass turned to giving their AI instructors a voice.

After evaluating several vendors, MasterClass selected ElevenLabs Text to Speech for three key reasons:

1. Voice quality: Each instructor’s AI is designed to capture their pacing, tone, and empathy. For example, Gordon Ramsay’s AI voice was programmed with humor and warmth.
2. Low latency: Seamless responses are essential for realistic conversations, enabling users to speak naturally without noticeable delay.
3. Deep partnership and collaboration: Over an 18-month collaboration, ElevenLabs’ Forward Deployed Engineering team worked closely with MasterClass’ engineering and product teams - guiding dataset curation, model training, and quality assurance. This tight integration ensured that each instructor’s digital voice remained authentic and aligned with their brand.

“The partnership with the ElevenLabs team has been phenomenal. The quality of the voice is like night and day. It is extremely critical for us to make sure that the personality of our instructors comes through in the voice - that means the pacing and tone needs to be right, and all of our instructor AIs should feel empathetic during the conversations. ElevenLabs delivered on all these attributes way above everyone else.” - Mandar Bapaye, CPO & CTO, MasterClass

The impact

MasterClass On Call’s introduction of voice through ElevenLabs was an immediate hit - over 75% of users interact with On Call via voice.

As On Call has continued to grow in its first year, the results so far have exceeded expectations. Voice users show significantly higher retention and engagement across both professional and personal use cases.

New patterns of organic use are also emerging beyond the original product scope. For instance, one user - a flight attendant - has used the AI of Chris Voss to improve communication with passengers. Users consistently report greater trust in instructor-branded AI voices compared to generic chatbots, underscoring the importance of authenticity in voice-based learning.

Ensuring safety and quality

Representing globally recognized instructor brands required rigorous quality and safety controls. To ensure each AI instructor remained authentic, aligned, and safe to use, the MasterClass team implemented a multi-layered safety framework:

1. Training phase: Internal and external red teams stress-test models for accuracy, tone, and topic alignment, with final approval from the instructor’s own team.
2. Inference phase: Inline and offline moderation systems monitor active and past conversations to ensure each AI stays within its domain - for example, Gordon Ramsay’s AI remains focused on cooking.
3. Human review: Repeated or high-risk flags trigger manual review by trained moderators to verify that conversations remain appropriate and on brand.

AI instructors are released only after meeting strict internal and instructor-led benchmarks for safety and quality.

Looking ahead

Through MasterClass On Call, members will have personalized guidance, insights, and strategies through conversations with AI personas of the world’s best, leveraging their unique experiences and knowledge. Today, members can speak directly with the AIs of Mark Cuban about an upcoming pitch, Chris Voss about how to get a raise, or Dr. Matt Walker about jet lag. The MasterClass team is also focusing efforts on the AI roleplay functionality. With roleplaying, members can: 

• Practice from 100s of roleplays focused on communication, leadership, and interviewing with AI roleplay partners 
• Build custom roleplay scenarios and practice based on desired parameters
• Receive qualitative feedback and quantitative scoring based on roleplay performance 

As such, MasterClass On Call provides both AI coaching and roleplaying. Roleplays will be conducted with an AI roleplay partner. After the roleplays, members can further debrief and get coaching from the AIs of the world’s best, like Mark Cuban. 

As new use cases continue to emerge, MasterClass is also exploring opportunities with the ElevenLabs Agents Platform to further enhance personalization and interactivity across its learning experiences.

Voice interactions have unlocked a new dimension of learning at MasterClass - where guidance feels personal, responsive, and alive. By combining ElevenLabs’ voices with trusted instruction, MasterClass On Call brings world-class expertise within reach of anyone, anywhere.

Looking to build with Text to Speech at scale? Get in touch here.