AI Voices and the Future of Speech-Based Applications

While the pandemic slowed down the development of businesses and entire industries, it did not affect the ongoing development of AI-generated speech. According to analysts at Meticulous Research, the global voice technology market is growing at 17.2% annually. By 2025 its volume is expected to reach $26.8 billion. 

What makes voice synthesis such a rapidly developing niche, and what impact is that development having on speech-based applications today? 

Examples of speech-based applications

Implementing speech-based applications helps businesses significantly improve customer experiences. Human-like voices that help your clients better navigate your product, solve problems, and get answers to questions, create a much warmer and higher degree of customer loyalty towards a business’s brand. 

Today, almost everyone is familiar with, or has had some experience with voice assistants. These are artificial intelligence-based services that recognize human speech and perform a specific action in response to a voice command. Voice assistants are often used in smartphones, smart speakers, and web browsers.

The diverse functionality of voice assistants has grown to cover use cases such as:

• conducting dialogs
• delivering quick answers to user questions
• calling a taxi
• making routine calls
• laying routes
• placing orders in an online store

And many more.

Since all voice assistants operate through the use of artificial intelligence when communicating with users, they have to consider a user’s location, time of day and day of the week, their search history and previous orders in the online store, and so on.

With the help of AI generated voices, you don’t need to hire an actor to make your voice assistant sound natural. All you need is an hour-long audio recording of the human voice you want to vocalize your virtual assistant.

Respeecher built an audio version of the super resolution algorithm to deliver the highest resolution audio across the board, even if you don’t have high-res sources available. But how r resolutionrks and how you can benefit from it, you may wonder. Download this whitepaper on increasing audio resolution with Respeecher to find out.

Voice synthesis software feeds this recording into the machine learning algorithms. So long as the originally recorded speech contains the required number of emotional highs and lows, the synthetic model will be accurate and human-like. On the Respeecher FAQ page, you will find answers to questions about the voice cloning process

A voice assistant uses dynamic content to generate speech. This means that it adapts to the changing conditions that trigger it. Recordings you hear in an airport, weather alerts, navigations, stock quote updates, etc., are examples of dynamic content.

You wouldn’t hire a live announcer for these types of voice information since doing so would be very costly and unreliable.

Respectively, synthetic speech can help you omit expensive investments while streamlining the process of generating necessary alerts. Widely-used voice bots, powered by speech synthesis, help companies talk to their clients in their native language. 

Another type of audio content that can be streamlined with the help of AI voices is the static type. Static audio content does not change depending on context. Radio commercials, podcast interviews, character voices in an animated movie or video game, etc., are examples of static speech-based applications.

In these cases, voice cloning helps to vocalize the necessary pieces of content without having to depend on actors.

How speech-based applications are changing

As with any technology, speech-based applications evolve to make the user experience even more intuitive and beneficial for the people who use them. 

Conversational UX

A new technological wave of changes in interfaces affects human interaction with computers, forming new habits and requirements for communication with users. The same is happening with conversational UX. Very soon, it will complement familiar interfaces almost everywhere we interact digitally.

As conversational technologies evolve, their use in business communications between the clients and the companies — in natural language — will continue to grow. For instance, conversational UX will be used by support teams for enterprises and by administrators and office managers in SMBs.

Mobile applications

The voice interface is quickly becoming the next big frontier for mobile application development. A survey conducted by Voicebot found that more than 45% of US users would like to see voice assistants in their favorite applications.

Voice assistants inside mobile apps help users operate smartphone applications more natively. For example, “Siri, show me the way to the nearest atm.”

Natural speech

Machine learning technologies and GPU power continue to develop: today, technologies already make it possible to imitate the voice and speech of the speaker much more naturally than before, reproducing the emotions, tone, and individual characteristics of the original source’s speech. 

Even though most of your customers know that the voice they’re hearing via their phones is robotic, nobody wants to listen to a dry, lifeless voice.

More and more synthetic voice companies are making progress towards achieving a more natural-sounding rom a human. Learn about how Respeecher helps companies achieve human-like voices for their projects.

How does Respeecher contribute to the development of speech-based applications?

Respeecher uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to master every aspect of your target voice. We combine classical digital signal processing algorithms with proprietary deep-generative modeling techniques. The result is a computer-generated voice that’s nearly indistinguishable from natural speech. 

Respeecher contributes to the future of speech-based application by developing advanced features that most other voice synthesis software lacks:

• We provide users with a quick start option: just provide us with a high-quality recording of the voice you want to replicate to get started.
• From whiny to angry, our system picks up every nuance to produce synthetic recordings that your audience will respond to naturally.
• We provide overseas operators with the ability to communicate with customers in their native language.
• We give your robotic operators a much-needed voice makeover to make them sound human.

Respeecher is for anyone looking to reap the benefits of voice synthesis technology — from office workers to Hollywood movie studios.

Moreover, we understand that AI voice technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands. That’s why we follow a strict code of ethics and back by a robust set of security measures. We seek to ensure that our tech is only used for constructive purposes.