Storytel, one of the world’s largest subscription services for audiobook streaming, is continuously striving to create the best customer experience, both by providing a captivating and versatile content catalog and a best in class streaming platform. The audiobook pioneer now launches the Voice Switcher, an innovative feature with three synthetic narrator voices to complement the original human narration on 25 selected titles in Swedish. 

One of the selectable voices is an AI version of Stefan Sauk, a well-known and appreciated actor and narrator in Sweden, who is lending his voice to the Voice Switcher. 

– Storytel’s Voice Switcher is an innovation aimed at addressing a fundamental audiobook problem: Different users have different preferences regarding the narrator's voice. A whopping 89% of Storytel's listeners have at some point abandoned a book not because the book was bad, but because the voice did not suit them. Innovating a solution to that problem benefits the customers, the authors and the publishers, says Johan Ståhle, Chief Product Officer at Storytel.

Do you prefer a female or a male voice? A dramatic or more neutral narration? The Voice Switcher is a new feature that allows the user to customize their listening experience by being able to switch between narrators to find one that suits them better. 

– AI narrations are already here to stay, not as a replacement for the human voice, but as a tool to enhance the listening experience. We are very excited for our customers to try this feature out and experience the incredible quality of our Swedish synthetic voices. We did a test amongst people on the streets of Stockholm before the launch, and the results are mind blowing: 9 out of 10 could not tell which narration was human, says Johan Ståhle, and adds:

– It will of course always be clearly evident to the customers whether they are listening to an AI voice or a human narrator, but the test is a nice confirmation that we have developed synthetic voices of the highest quality.

The Voice Switcher is made possible by a unique technology for generating AI voices that Storytel has developed in collaboration with ElevenLabs. The new Swedish voices significantly enhance the quality of AI-generated voices, and it's the first time they are optimized for reading fiction.

The Voice Switcher was successfully launched in Poland in late 2023, following the beta test of the feature on five selected Storytel Original titles in English last summer.

The Swedish AI voices in the Voice Switcher are:

Carin, a calm and mature female voice

Amanda, a young and energetic female voice

Erik, a soft and deep male voice

Martin, a middle aged, straightforward male voice

Stefan, an AI generated version of the actor Stefan Sauk, who has a strong and dramatic voice

Samples of the voices (in Swedish) are attached to this press release.

Interview requests, contact therese.lindstrom@storytel.com.

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For more local information on the Swedish Voice Switcher launch, please visit Storytel's Swedish press room.