If you’re looking for the best text-to-speech API available, you’ve probably heard some REALLY bad AI voices. In the past, synthetic voice technology delivered robotic, rigid, and sometimes comical sounding voices. Unfortunately, this limited the ability to use artificial voice that would be a net positive to the user experience.
WellSaid Labs API is part of a growing ecosystem of generative AI advancements that have helped synthetic voice approach human parity. Read on for important factors in synthetic voice API.
Considerations of AI Voice Integrations
As a result of a jump in voice quality, organizations of all sizes are scaling up their voice infrastructure. Additionally, they are also improving customer service interfaces by adding vocal audio. Some are converting long form articles to voice. Still others are creating immersive app experiences that incorporate a realistic human voice.
Learn more: Download our free API Use Case Ebook
Not All Text-to-Speech APIs Are Equal
Speed, cost and quality are typically the three main criteria used when evaluating a text-to-speech API. However, for some organizations, a semi-robotic voice is sufficient, if the price is right. Other times, developers just need a voice to fill in while their application is being built. They’re still proving their use case. Eventually, WellSaid’s API is chosen over other alternatives because voice quality is paramount.
Alternatives to Google, Amazon and Microsoft Text-to-Speech APIs
Tech giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are comparable to a McDonalds cheeseburger. How? Glad you asked! They’re readily available, affordable and offer adequate satisfaction. API customers choose WellSaid API because the quality of voice is paramount for the success of their voice application. They need “Michelin star” synthetic voice.
The Secret About Some Text-to-Speech APIs
Unless you’re an industry insider you’d never know this little secret. Many of the companies that WellSaid is compared to are white labeling the APIs from tech giants. They simply re-brand the voices. They have no proprietary language AI. WellSaid CTO, Michael Petrochuk, innovated the WellSaid voice model himself. That is why the quality of WellSaid voices leads the industry and outshines the voices available from tech giants.
Our AI Voice Research and Results
Creating natural-sounding speech from text is one of the grand challenges in the field of AI. It has been a research goal for decades. Over the years, WellSaid Labs has consistently researched and developed tremendous breakthroughs in the quality of text-to-speech systems.
One way to evaluate the quality of AI voice avatars is to survey listeners on how natural a voice sounds. Listeners ranked voice samples on a scale of 1 (Bad: Completely unnatural speech) to 5 (Excellent: Completely natural speech).
Participants in the study then listen to a mix of voice actors recordings and clips from WellSaid AI Voice Avatars. Shockingly, participants ranked the voice actor clips at a 4.5, and ranked WellSaid avatar clips at 4.2. These findings were then audited by a third party research company for accuracy. In the end, WSL became the first company to achieve human parity, and to this day is a market leader.
Want to hear the best AI Voices for yourself? Try all our Voice Avatars for free!
The Best Text-to-Speech API
There are a wide variety of text to speech APIs with different applications. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used text-to-speech APIs.
- WellSaid API is the best text-to-speech API for quality of voice. A unique sound, including breaths and pauses, emulates the human voices used to train the AI voice model. This naturalness is the reason WellSaid voices can be found across so many industries and applications.
- Synthesia.io – offers an API for going from text (a script) to a video of an AI avatar. This API is in beta.
- Play.ht – offers a TTS API that simplifies accessing a wide variety of voices from IBM, Microsoft, Google and Amazon AI voice libraries.
- Listnr.tech – offers an API that specializes as a text reader that converts articles to narrations in multiple languages.
- Descript.com – offers a text to speech API geared toward content creators and marketers that want to quickly generate content assets such as podcasts, video, transcriptions and screen recordings.
- Google, Amazon, and Microsoft – offer text-to-speech APIs best suited for value, each also offer a large variety of languages making it ideal for worldwide applications.
- Speechify.com – offers a TTS API with a focus on rendering articles into audiobooks for elearning at all ages.
How Text to Speech APIs Are Used at WellSaid Labs
The AI voice revolution is not limited to billion dollar tech companies. App developers and content creators of all kinds are turning to synthetic voice. Why? To increase engagement with products, improve retention, and create innovative experiences that delight users.
A compelling voice is an incredible catalyst for increasing engagement with your product and building brand loyalty. However, the challenge organizations face is scaling up voice so that it sounds genuine and realistic.
App and Product Experience
From mobile apps to enterprise training platforms, high-quality synthetic voice greatly improves the user experience. Among other benefits, information retention is better with voice, allowing users to absorb messaging using visual and auditory senses.
Lifestyle Apps
PEAR Health Labs uses AI to create “personal adaptive coaching” for a variety of wellness apps. These applications range from supporting fitness wearables apps to training intelligence apps for military and first responders. PEAR customers use their proprietary AI to build training plans. Meanwhile, AI voice provides a consistent, branded delivery option for delivering information. With this technology, wellness app creators and instructors can scale their personal training across locations and platforms.
Educational Apps
This category covers a wide range of informative apps, but one of the biggest segments is educational content for children. The Explanation Company seeks to “build the internet for children,” with search functionality built for early readers. Using synthetic voice, the app can interact with young learners who don’t have the literacy skills to use traditional search engines. Then, it can answer questions with conversational AI, rather than text alone, engaging a whole new generation of app users.
Informational Apps
An exciting new way to consume content across the digital world is with apps like Uptime. Interestingly, this service can aggregate material from numerous sources. Uptime “packs thousands of life lessons extracted from best books, courses, documentaries, and podcasts into 5 minute Knowledge Hacks.” The average time in-app for Uptime is 10 minutes. They also boast an 11% click-through rate on each “Knowledge Hack.” By providing a variety of consumption options, including AI voice, apps like Uptime are finding ways to appeal to a broader user base.
Programmatic Content Creation
One of the most exciting uses of AI at scale is the ability to create voice content at scale. What would have taken hundreds of hours in a traditional recording studio can now happen in minutes. The applications for programmatic content creation are evolving all the time. Following are more examples in the areas of streaming, customer interface, and audiobook creation.
Radio Streaming
Outside of audio advertising, Generative AI is changing the way audio streaming is done. Companies like Super Hi-Fi are using synthetic voice to integrate with branded audio content. By using AI-powered automations, now Super Hi-Fi can help terrestrial and satellite radio stations and streams create more immersive experiences. These improved experiences drive engagement and brand loyalty. Check out the AI voice radio DJ that Super Hi-Fi created.
Customer Interface
Conversational AI gives you a new competitive edge. How does that help customer interfaces? By enabling proactive communication and automated support at any stage of the customer journey. Curious Thing helps companies use artificial intelligence to provide custom content. This material is relevant to their needs and questions at that exact moment. The Curious Thing tech improves the experience for the customer. They now get the information they need at exactly the right time. It also helps the company scale without additional support headcount.
Check out a replay recording of this session on WellSaid API
Audiobook Creation
Synthetic voice has the ability to enable widespread audiobook creation, especially with products like Speechki. Using AI voice and simple editing tools, the Speechki platform can create an audiobook in just 15 minutes. Unlike conventional audiobook recording, this process is cost-effective for academic journals and independent publishers. Audiobook platforms like Speechki drastically increase the amount of audio content available for listeners.
Sales and Marketing
One of the ways that AI voice is revolutionizing voiceover is with the ability to create infinite variations of content. With unique, listener-centric voiceover, brands can tailor a message to a specific audience. The application of this is obvious for audio advertising, but it extends to other exciting marketing uses. Custom video and video avatars are also taking the AI marketing space by storm.
Audio Advertising
Artificial intelligence is changing every aspect of audio advertising- targeting, bidding, and content creation. Companies like Decibel Ads are focused on helping brands create bespoke ads, quickly and easily. With what they call “listener-level targeting” and synthetic voice, Decibel customers can create and test multiple versions of ads. More importantly, this just takes a few minutes.
Personalized Video
When a customer hits a roadblock using a product or has a question about an invoice, SundaySky empowers companies to create videos just for that customer. With bespoke content made in real-time, the video is personalized with their name, account details, and more. Not only do SundaySky videos help with conversion, they allow companies to upsell and retain customers through superior support materials. This way, synthetic voice creates immersive experiences that brings the custom video to life.
Video Avatars
Moving beyond video voiceover, Synthesia’s lifelike video avatars make digital learning material come to life. Whether used for training modules, customer support, or product marketing, the Synthesia avatars improve retention of information.
Custom video and video avatars are also taking the AI marketing space by storm. One Synthesia customer reported a 30% increase in engagement with e-learning materials for a training module. By using video avatars for training materials, others reported being able to reduce video creation time by 80%.
Inbound Call Centers, Customer Experience
Moving beyond video voiceover, Synthesia’s lifelike video avatars make digital learning material come to life. Whether used for training modules, customer support, or product marketing, the Synthesia avatars improve retention of information.
Test Drive WellSaid API with Studio
Depending on your voice goals, a manual “studio” creation method or a synthetic voice API will work best. In many cases, companies who want to integrate AI voice with apps or products will start with a Studio subscription. Clearly, this serves well for proof of concept before transitioning to a more robust API format. Here are some guidelines for which option may work best.
Studio Works Best When:
1. Works well for teams building complex voiceover projects together
2. Scalable to staffing availability
3. Best for pre-generated audio content delivered asynchronously
4. Allows for hands-on adjustment of AI voice characteristics
API Works Best When:
1. Ideal for automated voice content creation using streamed audio
2. Scalable across multiple platforms, users, formats
3. Approaches real-time delivery, depending on other automations needed
4. Enables infinite variations of copy with different voice avatars
Frequently Asked Questions
Finally, you may have more TTS questions. Here are some of the most common ones. If you don’t see your answer here, then please reach out to us.
How Much Does a Text-to-Speech API Cost?
Text-to-speech APIs are priced out based on usage, or the number of calls to the API. Basically, every provider from startups to a tech giant typically has tiered pricing based on usage. Most organizations anticipate text to speech API with dedicated support to cost several thousand dollars per year.
How Can I Save Money on TTS API Calls?
One of the ways to cut down on the cost of a voice generator API is to cache API recordings vs. always calling the API for a new text render.
Can WellSaid Build a Custom Voice Text-to-Speech API?
Yes, WellSaid Labs can build a custom voice into an API. Furthermore, AI Voice has elevated the capabilities of sonic branding. With WellSaid, your imagination can run wide. Take a look at the work we completed with Super Hi-Fi an alternative rock DJ AI Avatar.
What is a Voice Generator API vs. TTS API?
When people say voice generator api, or tts api they mean the same things. Since AI Voice is a developing technology the definitions people use varies. Text-to-voice, text-to-speech, voice maker, voice generator, or ai voice over are generally the same things.
What is a Text-to-Speech API?
Finally, a Text-to-Speech API is a tool that allows you to automatically convert text to speech, while also integrating additional functions of an application. On the other hand, a text-to-speech studio is a tool that does not require web development expertise. It allows anyone to copy and paste text, then download a voice rendering of the text, for example.
