What are the emerging trends in voice-over work, and how are they changing the industry?

In my opinion, completing more than 1,000 projects, each client is only looking for a conversational and more human voice rather than using a robotic or AI voice. 

AI is good for those who do not have a budget and are not concerned about their growth. 

For big and quality clients, your real voice with emotions and feelings is what the client is looking for. 

In my opinion, the big shift is artificial intelligence; it's making waves in the industry. AI-generated voices are becoming increasingly sophisticated, leading to new applications in areas like virtual assistants and automated customer service and eliminating a lot of positions at organizations. It raises questions about the future role of human voice actors and the potential need for new skills to stay competitive. I always tell my coaching students and colleagues to diversify their skillsets, as the voiceover industry won't ever be the same. You have to adapt.

If we are speaking of emerging trends of 2024, I'm not sure there really have been. In all honesty, the conversational read (especially in the USA) has been the 'go to' sound now for quite  a few years, steering well away from the 'announcery' type read. Clients want personable, relatable, human, heartfelt and authentic. As if youre chatting to your friend on the phone, or a neighbour over the fence. Arguably, the most difficult type of read to deliver.

AI has of course become more prevalent and is very hot on the tails of many of us Professional voice actors. At the minute, it is not up to standard, it still lacks emotion, tonality, intonation and pitch but most importantly, heart. But it is improving by the minute, so who knows what the future holds?!

What is a little worrying is that I often get sent videos where an AI voice has been used as the 'guide read' and the client does not realise that its not a human voice (thats concerning to me) but i suppose all of our ears are different. Theres no question an AI voice can be useful in some circumstances but DEFINITELY shouldnt be used by businesses and clients as it stands, it just isnt up to scratch

1. Consistent examples of AI-generated work have been provided by clients who use AI for scratch demos, focusing on timing and pacing for voice-over actors like myself. As mentioned earlier, it's evident that AI isn't delivering the tone and emotion that buyers are looking for in the marketplace "RIGHT NOW".

2. I've noticed a trend where many YouTubers are reaching out for project assistance, but their buying power is extremely low. Unless you're new to Fiverr and looking to build your credibility, these projects are often not worth the time.

3. Companies have been requesting to replicate top voice actors' voices for their platforms, offering royalties. I see this becoming a major trend as AI technology continues to improve over the years. 

I have had a lot of ppl come to me looking to re place the AI voice they got with their video they had done, or because they didn't want to pay the real voice to do something that their computer software was doing in AI. Having done over 31 thousand projects here on Fiverr alone, I have found that you really need to be versitle with what you can do with the voice and offer it in several different ways. AI is getting better by the day, however it still cannot fully match the human range of emotion, or feeling to name 2 that humans still control. But there is always those looking for the cheapest thing they can get and not really having any care or, if I can say, aren't able to even realize how bad some projects sound done with AI.

Whether working with major production companies or small businesses, the conversational read is what everyone is asking for.  Being able to express the emotion of the script in a natural style will get you noticed and booked!

I get asked all the time to re- do an AI voice because it sounds terrible. It’s a lot of editing and time to get an AI voice to even sound close to being natural. So yes, @Mark Mullens sounding natural and authentic with even breaths and imperfections are definitely the trend.

@Angela Clark you are also correct! Conversational has definitely replaced the perfect announcer style and has for years now. Be sure to always ask what your buyer means by conversational. Some think it means lots of pitch variations to show real emotion while others want a kind of flat straight read style because that is also considered conversational.

Think about all the conversations you have every day...some are very emotional with lots of expression and some are just more matter of fact because that's what is natural. It's not about thinking how you would sound with a friend...that has become a little cliche to me. Think about sitting there at the dinner table trying to explain what happened during your day. Some things are crazy...some are upsetting and others are down right no emotion like, "yes, I picked up the dry cleaning today...got kitty litter and dog food."

We're witnessing the emergence of less pushed, more straightforward voices that sound like real humans. This is also the style of voice that is the most AI-proof. Gone are the days of just putting on a certain "sound". This is most prominent in higher-end commercials, but establishing yourself as a "character" or individual with a point-of-view is the best way to deliver meaningful intention in a read, irrespective of the genre.