AI Voice Design. Custom AI Voices for Perfect Voice Experiences. Learn how you can use voice design to generate custom voices for almost every scenario or character.

Customizing AI voices has quickly become a hot topic, especially with the rise of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. The ability to create voices tailored to specific user experiences is no longer just for tech giants—now, with generative AI (GenAI) voice technology, anyone can design a unique voice from scratch using simple prompts. Let’s talk AI voice design.

Let’s dive into why voice design is essential and how you can use some of the best tools to bring your voice-first ideas to life.

Before we begin, as historically there was such a concept of voice design. This term was mostly used within the user experience realm. Think of a sound designer for a movie. The voice designer would be responsible for the overall voice selection, tone and timbre within the context of the end result – the product, the TV show, or whatever the application.

It’s important to understand the distinction. Voice design, within the realm of AI voices, is a relatively newer term.

So, What is AI Voice Design?

AI voice design is the process of designing your AI voice for a specific scenario or character. It could work in many ways, but the two most popular versions are tweaking an existing voice or geneating a custom voice from scratch by using prompts.

Designing a pre existing voice

You’d start by selecting a default voice in which ever program you use. For example, in PlayHT Studio, you’d select a voice and then use various options to change the settings of that voice to craft it into matching your character.

Generating custom voices via prompts

This is a more newer iteration in the hurried, and ever evolving space of AI voices. Just like you would type prompts in ChatGPT or Midjourney, you could type in a prompt such as “Generate a voice that sounds like a big, mean troll, but he also loves unicorns“

And your new, custom AI vice would be generated.

Alright – now that we understand the two meanings of voice design, let’s get to the rest of the blog. One more thing, the voice industry at large uses Voice Design, which could be confusing it with the legacy term. I prefer AI voice design, as it better aligns with the process, and the AI voice industry.

Why Custom AI Voices Matter

Whether you’re designing a voice user interface (VUI) for a voice assistant or creating interactive voice experiences for your app, custom voices allow you to craft a unique brand identity. With custom voices, you’re not just stuck with generic ones like Siri or Alexa; you can align the tone, pitch, and personality to your product’s needs.

Here’s why it’s so important:

1. Uniqueness: We’ve all heard that same AI voice used in commercials and other voice overs. Custom voices opens up a whole new world of unique voices that can’t be heard elsewhere.
2. Character & Scenario: You can get AI voices to match your character and also the scenario. This helps with an immersive experience. Otherwise, AI voices can appear to sit on top of your project, as a disconnected layer.
3. Brand: Mark your brand, audibly. Get brand consistent voices all the time, every time. The first take.

With generative AI, we can now generate custom voices simply by describing the type of voice we want in a prompt. This opens up a world of possibilities for prototyping and launching voice-first applications.

Top AI Voice Generators & AI Voice Designers for Custom AI Voices

Here are the leading platforms for creating customizable AI voices, starting with the best:

PlayHT

If you’re serious about voice design, PlayHT is a powerhouse in the industry. It offers ultra-realistic voices with low latency, making it ideal for live streaming, podcasts, and voice apps. With PlayHT, you can use AI-generated voices that are finely tuned to match specific tones, emotions, and styles. Whether it’s for narration, interactive dialogues, or voice assistants, PlayHT has all the tools you need to customize and perfect your voices.

Plus, their text-to-speech API integrates smoothly into your workflow, allowing seamless prototyping and production. PlayHT supports creating sample dialogs for user testing, enabling you to perfect your conversation design.

PlayHT, as a baseline, starts off with better voice quality that is the most natural sounding. See the text to speech leaderboard where users blind rate voices. PlayHT ranks well above the competitors. Fine tuning voices helps you retain that stellar voice quality, but in the pitch, tone, and timbre, your project demands.

ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs is another major player offering highly customizable voices. This platform shines when you need advanced controls for tone and emotion in longer, more complex voice interactions. ElevenLabs also has great user-friendly tools for creating nuanced voice personas.

Speechify

Speechify allows users to create voices that are both natural and pleasant to listen to. It’s easy to use and is perfect for those designing voice assistants or chatbots who need a voice to align with a specific brand or UX.

Murf AI

Murf AI specializes in voiceovers for marketing, training, and product videos. With an intuitive interface, users can fine-tune their voices to sound as natural or as dynamic as needed for various use cases.

Resemble AI

Resemble AI is perfect for those wanting to experiment with voice technology. It enables you to generate realistic voices from simple prompts, making it ideal for **prototyping** conversation flows and designing voice user interfaces.

Voice Customization Use Cases

Here are some standout use cases for custom AI voice design:

1. Voice Assistants: Build a tailored experience for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Microsoft Cortana that stands out from the standard offerings.
2. Chatbots and Customer Service: Elevate your chatbot or customer service bot with a voice that feels friendly and knowledgeable.
3. Content Creation: Podcasts, audiobooks, and live streams can all benefit from voices generated through AI that match the tone and style of your content.

Pro Tip for Custom Voices for Voice Agents

Play.ai is the premier AI voice agent generator. If you’d like custom voices for your agent, you can clone your voice directly in Play.AI. However, if you want to customise an Ai voice, then use PlayHT for your voice design needs and generate a unique voice.

Upload this voice to your agent in PlayAI. Now, if your gaming company can use agents that sound like characters from your virtual world. Your movie, or documentary can use custom voices with agents, and so much more.

The Future of Voice Interaction

With platforms like PlayHT and ElevenLabs, the future of voice customization is here. Whether you’re designing for voice interaction, VUI design, or enhancing an ecosystem of voice experiences, the technology has evolved to let you fine-tune every aspect of your voice design. As voice technology advances, the possibilities for crafting user-friendly and human-like voices are endless.

From creating hands-free experiences to conversation design and prototyping for apps, it’s an exciting time for designers looking to push the boundaries of voice interaction.

Designing custom AI voices can significantly improve your user experience design. With the right tools and approaches, you’ll transform how users interact with your product—whether they’re using Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, or any custom voice assistant you develop.