With the rise of AI voice generators and the increasing scope of their capabilities, it can be difficult to keep up with new terms and definitions, such as voice cloning, synthetic voice, and text to speech.
But for businesses and creators alike, it’s never been more important to understand such developments. Synthetic voice and voice cloning software allow you to access consistent, affordable, and compelling voice audio, helping you to reach new audiences with a unique and consistent brand voice. To get the best out of these technologies, though, it’s important to understand what they are, as well as the benefits of using them.
Here, we explain what synthetic voice is, what voice cloning is, and — most importantly — the differences between the two.
What Is A Synthetic Voice?
A synthetic voice is a computer-generated speech achieved using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning. It is generated through either text to speech (TTS) or speech to speech (STS) technology.
The term “synthetic” implies that these AI creations are recognizably artificial or false, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The human-like voices of the best text to speech software on the market can edit emphasis, pronunciation, pauses, and more to create an identifiable, unique voice that sounds completely natural.
Use Cases For Synthetic Voices
Synthetic voices are an ideal fit for many different industries and applications. Here are some popular use cases.
- Advertising – Synthetic voices offer no end of possibilities for creating persuasive advertisements at a fraction of the cost.
- Explainer videos – Even dense concepts are easier for audiences to absorb when a synthetic voice provides the consistency and clarity an explainer video requires.
- Education – Educators can use synthetic voice AI technology to create engaging training materials.
- YouTube – High-quality synthetic AI voices offer a quick and easy way to add another dimension to YouTube videos and give them a slick, professional feel.
- Corporate training – With synthetic speech, businesses can upgrade their learning and development materials and provide better support to employees.
- Social media – Synthetic voice tools are great for building social media engagement and enhancing personalized communication with followers.
- Podcasts – Creating a podcast full of different personalities is a lot easier, thanks to the power of synthetic voice AI.
- Audiobooks – Publishers and authors can use synthetic voices to produce natural-sounding audiobook recordings faster and for a more affordable price.
- Product demos – Product demos using synthetic voice AI captivate global audiences through the persuasive power of a consistent audio identity.
- Customer service – Synthetic voices enable customer support teams to cut down wait times, assist more customers, and offer complete consistency when doing so.
What Is Voice Cloning?
It’s not uncommon to see the terms synthetic voice and voice cloning being used interchangeably. However, there are some important differences between the two.
While a synthetic voice sounds like a real person but is completely fabricated, voice cloning refers to a virtual copy of a real person’s voice. Rather than using machine learning to synthesize an original AI voice, voice cloning technology replicates an existing human voice. This cloned voice can then be used in the same way as a synthetic voice with text to speech tools.
The Benefits Of Voice Cloning
Voice cloning offers several benefits:
1. Vocal Consistency
Cloning a voice locks it in time. Human voices can change a lot over the years, so having a recorded version of the exact voice you want — whether that’s your voice, an actor’s voice, or the voice of a brand ambassador — ensures complete vocal consistency for the future.
Cloning could be helpful, for example, to preserve the voices of child actors before potential changes during puberty, as well as offering consistent tones despite colds or throat infections.
2. Faster Recording Times
With voice cloning, producing fresh new voiceovers is as easy as typing it into a text to speech software and pressing play. The obvious benefit here is how much faster it is to create new audio or edit existing projects.
3. Record From Anywhere
Whether you’re in a busy office, at the airport, or even in transit, you can create new audio wherever you are. There’s no need to move to a quieter spot, set up your recording equipment, or do multiple takes. Simply open your laptop and start creating audio content as you type.
Voice Cloning vs Synthetic Voices
Cloned voices and synthetic voices both come with their own advantages and disadvantages when determining what is the best to use for your projects. While both are great for creating content quickly and easily, there are some differences that can make a difference.
As we have covered above, to use a cloned voice, we need to have an input voice. This will mean that you will need to record your own voice or use a recording of the voice you want to use. While there is some setup required, the result is a voice that is very accurate to the original voice. Perfect if you need to produce content that requires your voice or a very specific brand voice.
Synthetic voices, on the other hand, require no initial setup and are ready to go as soon as your text is complete. These voices have been trained using sophisticated models over thousands of hours to produce life-like human voices of very high quality. If you do not want to use your own voice or require professional-grade voiceovers, then synthetic voices could be best suited for your needs.
Whichever one you choose, synthetic or cloned voices, one thing they both have in common is the ability to save people time, money, and resources when producing content.
LOVO AI
When looking to fast-track audio content or create a consistent audio identity for your brand, AI voice technology comes with many positives, such as saving time, money, and the convenience of producing content whenever you want. LOVO AI offers human-like synthetic and custom voices that enable you to have a unique brand voice.
Try the LOVO AI synthetic voice generator Genny today to see for yourself!
