Do you ever find yourself watching YouTube videos and wondering, “Wait, didn’t I just hear this exact voice on the video before ?” You’re not imagining it. As I’m sure you’ve already suspected or know, they are default AI-generated voices such as “Adam” and “Antoni” for male narrations and “Rachel” and “Matilda” for females.

So where do they come from and why?

These voices originate from Eleven Labs ‘Text To Speech’ Voice Synthesis platform which many Youtubers have begun using.

Common Reasons content creators have started using AI voices include:

• Lack of Equipment: Recording high-quality audio requires professional microphones, soundproof environments which get very expensive
• Cheap: Hiring professional voice actors is expensive, especially for small creators. AI voice services are very affordable and free in some cases
• Language Barriers: Creators may want to produce content in languages they don’t speak fluently or have a disabilities like a New Zealand accent.
• Translation: Many AI voice platforms support multiple languages and videos are translated into or from different languages
• Privacy: Some creators prefer AI voices for projects where they want to remain anonymous for
• Convenient: Generating a voice over is as simple as copy & pasting in the text, it’s faster than even reading it!

While these default voices were cool and acceptable the first hundred times, sadly they have been so over used they have become distasteful and annoying like being stuck in a mindless deja vu loop.

We get it, these legacy voices are free, but can we please mix it up a bit or at-least and use some voices further down the list that aren’t so robotic!

For creators that are lucky to earn more than a few rupees a day, paying a few dollars a month opens up so many more high quality unique voices that are far more advanced and likely more engaging for your audience. Examples Below:

What are your thoughts. Sick of AI Voices? Share Your opinion in the comments below.