Apple starts offering audio books read aloud by software

Apple has started offering audio books that the company reads using software-generated speech. The software warns in advance that the voices that recorded the books are digital.

Apple Books AI narrative

The message that it concerns a non-human narrator can be heard as a fragment of a few seconds before users start the audiobook. The Apple Books interface also says: ‘Told by Apple Books’, with an i icon next to it. Pressing the i-icon tells you that a digital voice ‘based on a human narrator’ is reading the book. Apple has information about the digital votes posted online.

Because Apple makes the software to read the books and not publishers, Apple gets a share of the proceeds, reports The Guardian. Technology makes it easier to produce audio books. Converting written books into audiobooks is a process that can take weeks and cost thousands of dollars per edition. This can be done faster and cheaper with software.

The downside is that Apple can now claim a share of the profit from books in its own Books app. Moreover, it is still unknown how listeners respond to books read aloud by software. Competitor Amazon does not yet have the technology in its audiobook service Audible. For the time being, this concerns a small section in the Books app, which can be found by searching for ‘AI narration’ in that app.