In a bid to overcome language barriers in video content, YouTube has announced the integration of Aloud, an AI-powered dubbing service developed by Google's Area 120 incubator. This innovative tool aims to make video content more accessible to global audiences by allowing creators to dub their videos into multiple languages, starting with Spanish and Portuguese, with more languages to be added soon.
A Quality Dub in Just a Few Minutes
Aloud, the brainchild of Google's experimental project incubator, Area 120, promises to deliver a quality dub in just a few minutes. The tool first generates a text-based translation that creators can review and edit, before producing the dubbed audio. This service is available at no cost to the creator, making it a cost-effective solution for overcoming language barriers in videos.
AI Language Translation
The Aloud tool leverages advances in audio separation, machine translation, and speech synthesis to streamline the traditionally time-consuming and costly process of dubbing. Creators only need to provide the video and subtitles in the original language or review the text transcript generated by Aloud. The tool then produces a dubbed version of the video, allowing creators to reach a wider global audience without the need for extensive language expertise or resources.
With Aloud, creators can tap into previously unreachable portions of the world's population. In experiments, dubbing into just one additional language resulted in double-digit growth in views. Importantly, creators maintain control over their content, deciding which videos to dub, how to publish them, and whether to involve language experts. Aloud does not create new content but translates the original speech into a different language chosen by the creator.
While Aloud aims to make previously inaccessible information available to the world, it also prioritizes transparency. Creators using Aloud are required to clearly state that the dubs are synthetic and provide a reference to the original content. This ensures that synthetically dubbed content is never confused with the original or with content dubbed by voice actors.
Tests and Planned Rollout
As YouTube continues to test this tool with creators, which can request early access at aloud.area120.google.com. The company plans to enhance the tool to make translated audio tracks sound more like the creator's voice, with more expression and lip sync. This feature is expected to be rolled out in 2024. As the tool evolves, it is set to revolutionize the way creators reach global audiences, making video content more accessible and inclusive than ever before.
