5+ possible uses for Voice Engine in marketing
The ChatGPT hype has only just died down and OpenAI's next innovation is waiting – Voice Engine, an AI tool that imitates voices. Find out how to use the voice synthesizer in your marketing!
Voice Engine: The next big thing from OpenAI!
In early 2024, AI developer OpenAI announced it was working on a new voice synthesizer. This new technology would be able to read out texts – with realistic and empathetic speaker voices, according to the developers – all generated from just 15 seconds of audio material. Its name? Voice Engine.
Development of Voice Engine began back in 2022. The model was initially only intended to support OpenAI’s text-to-speech API and the voice output for ChatGPT. However, the U.S. company decided to expand what was then still a small voice AI model, and the result is Voice Engine – which does indeed have natural sounding voices (OpenAI provides reference audio on its website). AND: there are exciting new possible uses for marketing!
Reading tip: The revolution is in full swing and the marketing industry in particular is changing as a result of AI. If you want to find out about what happens next in this adventure, download our free whitepaper “AI in marketing – tools and skills for the digital revolution”. Let’s dive in!
Using Voice Engine in marketing
#1 Voice Engine gives videos a voice
OpenAI has already tested Voice Engine with a few selected companies. One early adopter is HeyGen, the U.S. developer of AI video tools with the same name. HeyGen uses Voice Engine to translate content, with the voice synthesizer creating custom multilingual avatars to support HeyGen’s video AI. These avatars are almost indistinguishable from human voices and are a versatile element of content production, product marketing, and sales demos.
Incidentally, HeyGen is one of the many interesting companies on our list of AI developers to watch in 2024. Read our story to find out more about the hottest AI developers right now. And our Community members can download it free of charge, of course.
#2 Voice Engine is multilingual
The developer also uses the AI model to translate videos into different languages, with Voice Engine transforming translated texts into speaker voices. According to OpenAI, the model can even take language-related issues into consideration, such as using an audio sample from a French speaker to generate an English AI voice with a French accent.
Voice Engine can be used in video production! For advertising videos, for example, this saves both time and money in the post-production stage by translating and exporting the videos into the required languages.
#3 Voice Engine in communication
Dimagi has provided another example of how Voice Engine can be used. The developer of the digital health platform of the same name uses Voice Engine in a solution for health workers. The Dimagi platform uses the AI model and ChatGPT to give interactive feedback in each worker’s native language, including highly complex languages such as Swahili and Sheng, a common code-mixed language in Kenya. Voice Engine can be used in a similar way to communicate with customers.
#4 Voice Engine in content production
The AI technology can be used to accurately generate custom multilingual content and make it available to specific target groups. Using moving images, AI voices could provide additional product information, demonstrate potential applications, or offer general help to resolve after-sales issues, for example. Using voices also makes customer contact much more personal and ultimately reinforces brand loyalty.
#5 Accessibility thanks to Voice Engine
The Act on Strengthening Accessibility (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, or BFSG) 2025 will come into force on June 28, 2025, and will apply in particular to online shops and e-commerce providers. Voice Engine could have a role to play here, since OpenAI is already advertising possible uses in relation to accessibility. For example, OpenAI’s technology is currently supporting accessibility initiatives, such as Age of Learning with reading aids and interactive educational content for children and non-readers. Using empathetic and natural-sounding voices makes learning more attractive and learning content more accessible. Researchers are also exploring how Voice Engine can be used for treatment purposes, such as for people who are unable to speak or have a speech impairment. It offers customized voices that are both consistent and appealing in a range of languages, which significantly improves communication for users with disabilities.
#ChatGPT-4o
We asked Voice Engine’s big sister ChatGPT-4o what else its younger sibling is capable of in terms of marketing. Here are its answers:
- Voice search optimization (VSO): Companies can optimize their content to make it easier to find them in voice searches. This involves adapting SEO strategies to take natural spoken phrasing and questions into consideration, which users input via voice assistants.
- Voice commerce (V-commerce): Customers can use their voice assistants to buy products and services. Brands present special offers and customized purchasing experiences using voice commands.
- Personalized advertising: Voice assistants play tailored ads based on users’ preferences and behavior. Occasionally this includes targeted recommendations and offers derived from previous interactions.
- Customer service and support: Companies can use voice assistants to answer customer queries and provide support. This automates the handling of straightforward questions and requests, boosts customer satisfaction, and reduces costs.
- Content engagement: Brands can choose to offer exclusive content, podcasts, or audio news, which can be accessed via voice assistants. This can boost engagement and brand loyalty.
- Interactive campaigns: Fun and interactive campaigns can be delivered via voice assistants – examples include quizzes, competitions, or interactive stories, which serve to make users feel part of the brand’s world.
- Voice-activated apps: Companies can develop special apps or skills for voice assistants that ensure added value for users and increasingly make the brand an integral part of everyday life.
- Feedback and surveys: Brands can use voice assistants to collect feedback and opinions from customers on products and services, for example by using short, voice-based surveys.
- Local search requests: Voice assistants are often used for local search requests. Companies should then ensure that their local listings and information are optimized for voice searches, so that they appear high up in the results.
- Brand awareness and PR: Customers can use voice assistants to boost their brand awareness by providing their target group with relevant information and updates that can be easily accessed using voice commands.
Voice Engine: Sounds good!
Voice Engine is a versatile new tool from OpenAI. Although the model is not yet available to the public, it is already being used by some companies as part of a collaboration with OpenAI. Voice Engine will offer marketers a diverse range of options, particularly in content production. It is not yet clear when it will be widely released. Given the upcoming U.S. elections, OpenAI has said that the risk of misuse of the voice technology is too great, so they have decided to restrict the tool to initial testing with selected companies for the foreseeable future.
