Matt’s Quick Take: YouTube’s New AI Dubbing Tool

Written By Matt Koval

THE WHAT:

YouTube is rolling out AI-powered automatic voice dubbing to select channels in the Partner Program. Education / information channels are the starting focus.

THE COOL:

This could open your videos to global audiences. Imagine your content speaking clearly to viewers in Spanish, Hindi, French, and more, with zero extra effort on your part.

All viewers have to do is choose their desired language. YouTube will even remember that choice for them in the next video.

THE CRINGE:

  • The AI won't match the lips of on-camera speakers, so it works best for voice-over-only videos.

  • If you have multiple people in your videos, everyone gets the same AI voice.😐

  • Burned-in text graphics will of course still be in English.

  • Expect robotic voices, unnatural translations, and/or errors. YouTube says they’re improving it, of course.

THE VERDICT:

Meh. Not as good as it sounds… yet. But at the speed AI is moving, just wait another year month. It might massively impress us down the road, and sooner than we think.

Also worth noting: Most creators can already employ “Multi-Language Audio" by way of human-recorded dubs where voice actors can re-record the audio tracks. It’s way better, but requires a lot more work. 

If you’re curious, check out this Mr. Beast video and look for “Audio Track” under the gear icon. Jimmy's voice actors give much better performances than any AI would.

One More Thing…

Never forget, with YouTube’s experiments, you are the guinea pig. Try them out carefully and watch for “unintended side effects” – although I don't foresee many with this feature.

If you're in the experiment, it'll be on by default. If you don't want it, you’ll need to turn it off manually [instructions].

Matt Koval

I was an early YouTube star who ended up working at YouTube for 10 years as their top creator educator.

I helped write the book on how to grow an audience with a channel, and through several roles, advised everyone from creators, businesses, brands, movie studios, media companies, non-profits, and celebrities.

Leveraging this incredibly deep (and fortunate) experience, I eventually left YouTube and launched Creator Dynamics, a YouTube consulting agency that partners with businesses, organizations, and public figures to grow their channels with creator-based tactics.

https://CreatorDynamics.net
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