Amazon Introduces AI Voice Clones for Audiobooks

Amazon's Audible is introducing a trial program that allows audiobook narrators to create and monetize AI-generated voice clones. This initiative, currently available to a select group of narrators in the US, aims to expand Audible’s audiobook catalog by incorporating AI technology. The program, part of Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), will let narrators and authors control how their AI voices are utilized, with final productions reviewed to correct any errors. While this development might seem at odds with ACX’s existing requirement for human narration, it reflects Amazon’s broader commitment to integrating AI into its services. Last year, a similar AI audio program was introduced for Kindle publishing. If successful, this could lead to a future where any author can generate an AI voice to narrate their own books. Other companies, like Rebind, are exploring similar technologies, but opinions on AI voices in audiobooks remain mixed.