Speech to text conversion is commonly used in advertising as an alternative to using a real human voice. It works using technology that converts input text into speech that is designed to be as natural as possible.
There are a lot of variants on the type of technology used, but overall the software tends to be very similar and fairly easy to get hold of for businesses who want to use it in their advertising.
If you are considering using this modern software for your next advertising campaign, it’s definitely worth thinking carefully about. Despite it being somewhat cheaper than real human voiceovers, there are some pretty chunky downsides to be aware of.
Let’s take a closer look at the disadvantages of synthetic text-to-speech in advertising:
It Is Unlikely To Be Quicker Than A Professional Human Voiceover
Many people think that a computer system will be a quicker way to get a voiceover when in fact the system used can be very time consuming and challenging to use correctly. It isn’t a simple process and there’s quite a lot of learning involved in order to get a good result.
The Results Are Never As Natural As A Human Voice
Despite the incredible advances in technology with AI voices, the result of text-to-speech technology is still pretty robot-like. The natural nuances of the human voice have still not been mastered when it comes to AI voice so if you do plan to use AI vocals for your advertising campaign it is important to know that it will be noticeable.
People Don’t Like AI Voices
73% of people don’t trust AI voice technology and 71% of people prefer a human voice rather than a synthetic one. When it comes to your branding and message, that’s quite a big factor. Could an AI voiceover turn your audience off your advertising?
Pronunciation Will Not Be Perfect
If you’re wanting a clear message from your AI voiceover you may struggle with text-to-speech. Pronunciation is always a little bit off, which means your messaging may well be lost somewhat via the voiceover.
Technology Is Still Young
You may feel that soon enough there will be a way to use AI in text-to-speech advertising that is cheaper and quicker than a real voiceover. The problem is that great AI voice-overs are pretty far off. Technology has advanced a lot but nowhere near making it easier, quicker, and realistic compared to a human voice-over actor. Using text-to-speech advertising now means accepting its limitations.
Pace Of Speech Is Unnatural
The speech will be read as it is written when you use text-to-speech software. This means that there won’t be any natural pauses, hesitations, and silences as you would have with a professional voiceover actor. Companies offering text-to-speech software will advise you to add exaggerated pauses and paragraph breaks in your script to get around this issue. The fact is that this doesn’t sound dramatic or effective, it just sounds awkward because the AI voice can’t add the tone and intonation necessary to make those pauses make sense.
Consider Using A Professional Voiceover Service
If you want a natural, personality-filled, professional voiceover for your advertising, consider using a professional voice over agency. The costs compared to text-to-speech are surprisingly affordable, and the results are second-to-none compared to AI voices. It could be the perfect way to give your advertising the professional finish you’ve been looking for.
Read Also:
