How to Use AI Avatars in Text to Speech Videos

Interested in learning how to create engaging videos with the help of artificial intelligence (AI)? You’ve come to the right place. And don’t worry – you won’t need to spend hours writing scripts, recording voiceovers, and editing the final product.

Instead, in this article, we’ll show you exactly how you can leverage AI avatars to generate high-quality text to speech videos at scale. 

What is text to speech?

Text to speech (TTS) is a technology that transforms written words into spoken language. But that’s just the high-level overview. TTS technology also enables users to audibly present text-based material that caters to those who struggle with reading or simply prefer listening to information. 

Text to speech has a variety of other uses, too, including generating voiceovers for videos, providing audio output for those who are blind, and improving the accessibility of digital content.

How does text to speech work?

Converting written text into natural-sounding speech requires sophisticated computer algorithms and synthetic AI voices working together in tandem. This is what the TTS process looks like from start to finish: 

Upon receiving written input from the user in the form of documents, web pages, or other text-based content, the TTS system first analyzes the text on multiple levels. Then, it examines the synthesis of the audio for factors such as sentence structure, punctuation, and formatting to determine the appropriate pronunciation and intonation for each word and phrase. 

Finally, once you wrap up the text analysis, a TTS system can narrate the text using pre-recorded or computer-generated human voices based on your preferred language and voice characteristics.

The benefits and applications of text to speech

Text to speech has proven invaluable across multiple domains due to its diverse benefits and use cases. 

A primary advantage is its ability to promote accessibility by allowing those with visual impairments or reading difficulties equal access to written information through synthesized audio. It can also serve as an assistive technology by aiding those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, or cognitive impairments through enhanced reading comprehension, proofreading support, and overall literacy development. 

Language learners can also leverage TTS content creation to improve pronunciation and comprehension by utilizing audio feedback and models. 

Additionally, text to speech enables users to consume written content hands-free, whether they want to listen to articles, ebooks, or emails. Content creators can also leverage the efficiency of these AI tools to use a talking avatar for their video narrations, voiceovers, and podcasts without the manual effort of transcribing and recording everything themselves. 

How to easily make text to speech videos with an AI avatar

Using an AI avatar today is much easier than it was just a few years ago. And, as a result, the global text to speech market is growing at a rapid pace; in 2021, the industry was valued at $2.8 billion and is projected to reach $12.5 billion by 2031.

You don’t need to craft the perfect text prompt or write code to create an AI presenter. Instead, with dedicated AI video tools like Colossyan, all you have to worry about is the creative process – such as how your avatar sounds or what it looks like. 

To get started, browse Colossyan’s selection of avatars and choose one that matches the persona and use case you’re looking to match. Then, you’ll want to upload a pre-written script, document, article, or other piece of text to generate the narration from. 

When you input this script into Colossyan's text to speech generator, it instantly produces high-quality audio of the avatar "reading" the words aloud. Even better, the platform can generate video of an AI avatar lip-syncing perfectly to the generated audio in real time, making your videos more visually realistic. 

All of this audio and video footage can be fully edited within Colossyan, and you can even use additional interactive video elements like knowledge checks to make your final product more engaging. From there, you can export and share the video to your employees or customers or embed it directly on your website.

Now that we’ve walked through this process at a high level, let’s take a closer look at how you can use one of Colossyan’s text to speech avatars to create your own videos in just a few minutes:

Step 1. Consider how your AI avatar should look

There are many different use cases for text to speech avatars, so you may want to start by considering how you want your AI avatar to look. Based on your message, you’ll want to evaluate your options for the avatar’s general age, gender, and visual style (casual, corporate, or sporty).

Fortunately, Colossyan offers an array of stock AI avatars, which you can explore on the AI avatars page. Alternatively, you can select a video template that matches your use case and start creating your text to speech video from there using the pre-selected avatars. 

Colossyan also offers the ability to create custom AI avatars of yourself or a team expert to enhance the personalization of your videos. Custom avatars are a great way to add an additional level of authenticity to your content. 

Step 2. Consider the video content you’re trying to create

While Colossyan supports a diverse number of use cases, determining the precise type, purpose, and content topic for your video is key. Consider the core knowledge area, like marketing, software, or health, as well as the audience’s demographics, interests, and learning styles. 

You should also take additional factors into account like calls to action; objectives like generating leads; and the delivery style, such as explainer, persuasive, or conversational. This might determine whether you include interactive quizzes or conversations between avatars within your videos. 

Finally, it’s always helpful to consider the culture of your organization: Are you a startup or enterprise? Do you have a laid-back culture or a more traditional corporate environment? Keeping this in mind will help you achieve the right tone and realize the full benefits of video content.

Step 3. Add your text 

The most important part of creating a high-quality text-to-speech video is having good text, as this will dictate what your AI avatars say. 

Colossyan offers two features to help get your video scripts off the ground – prompt to video and document to video. 

With prompt to video, simply input what you want your video to be about, specify video details, your audience, and desired tone, and allow Colossyan to do the rest. 

But for those who already have a document with information they’re hoping to transform into a visual piece of video content, Colossyan’s document-to-video feature is worth checking out. Once you upload your document as a PDF, PPTX, TXT, or DOCX, Colossyan will create a video draft of your material, complete with an AI avatar, voiceover, and images – all in less than 60 seconds. 

Here’s how it works: 

But regardless of the feature you use – or even if you decide to hand write your script from text – it’s important that you input well edited copy into your AI video generator in order to receive the best possible output. 

Step 4. Creating a custom voice for your text to speech avatar

You should also keep in mind that, while recordings help synthesize human-like speech, AI has limits replicating actual voices. That being said, the Colossyan Creator offers robust language and accent choices so you can get uber-specific about what your AI avatar should sound like.  

Within Colossyan, you can experiment with accents in your selected language and choose the best cultural fit. Then, you can adjust the pitch, cadence, pronunciation, and emphasis on certain words or parts of a sentence. Once you’ve selected all of the options, you can go back and tweak them as needed until you’re satisfied with the result.

Step 5. Choose your language

Once you’ve explored the options for designing your avatar, the next important step is selecting your AI character's language. If you’re using Colossyan Creator, you’ll have the option to choose from an extensive list of over 70 supported global languages. 

Even better, there's no need to re-record your audio in a different language, as Colossyan automatically handles the translation for you. This kind of functionality is especially helpful for fast-growing companies that need to adapt to a globalized audience.

Step 6. Edit your text to speech video

To achieve the highest quality results from your text to speech video, you’ll want to carefully review the generated content. This means playing through the audio while following the video script and analyzing how accurately the synthesized narration conveys its intended message, tone, and brand voice. 

During the video editing process, you’ll also want to check for clear pronunciation of key industry terms, names, and places and evaluate the AI avatar’s delivery for its overall clarity, flow, and emotion.

Once you’ve checked all those boxes, you can turn your attention to added elements like background music, subtitles, or any fun visual elements you want to include. After that, you’re all done!

Step 7. Export and use your text to speech avatar 

Once you’re satisfied with the result, export the video or audio file featuring your text to speech avatar. You can export these speech avatar videos as a standard MP4, or you can export them as a SCORM file and upload them to your learning management system. 

Once you’ve successfully exported your video, you can start using them for all kinds of use cases, including company presentations, marketing materials, or educational content for customers and employees.

How quickly can you generate a text to speech video with an AI avatar?

The speed at which you can create a text to speech video really depends on the tool you’re using and the length of the video you’re creating. But with Colossyan, creating high-quality text to speech videos is significantly faster than producing videos the traditional way. 

So, how is Colossyan able to make this process so quick?

Rather than requiring users to go through a lengthy custom avatar creation process, Colossyan users can simply select from the platform's diverse range of over 150 pre-made, professional avatars. All you have to do is choose an ideal avatar based on your specific use case and get started on the video creation process from there. 

What can a text to speech avatar do?

Text to speech AI avatars can serve all kinds of use cases. Here are some tasks that a TTS avatar can perform, depending on your needs:

1. Educational material: By incorporating talking avatars into your elearning platforms, tutorials, and training materials, your video content can provide more ways for learners to engage with a subject than by just reading the text alone.
2. Voice acting and narration: TTS AI avatars can create top-notch voiceovers and narrations for different media assets like videos, presentations, and audio content. Narration can make a big difference for the accessibility of your visual materials.
3. Digital marketing and social media: These realistic avatars can also be utilized for marketing campaigns and social media promotions. Or, you can include them in animated videos that feature unique facial expressions and natural-sounding voices.
4. Explainer videos: TTS AI avatars also serve as helpful tools for producing explainers and how-to videos like product demos or SOPs.

It's worth noting that the functionality of these TTS AI avatars may differ based on the platform or software you use. However, if you’re using a tool like Colossyan, you’ll be able to find avatars that cater to almost every use case, including sales training videos, employee onboarding, product demos, quarterly company updates, and much more.

Create your custom text to speech videos with Colossyan

You don’t need to sit through hours-long recording sessions, transcribe your audio files, and try to use multiple programs to generate your text to speech videos. With Colossyan, you can manage your entire video creation workflow in one place and use the platform’s best AI presenters to act as your on-camera talent.

Want to start creating text to speech videos for your organization? Book a demo with the Colossyan team to get started.