Audiobooks discussion
Audiobooks in the News
>
New data on audiobook usage
date
newest »
newest »
Thanks for sharing, Robin. Interesting information.I think part of the interest is AI audiobooks is curiosity. I'd be interested to listen to one just to see how AI does or how it has improved, but wouldn't want to listen to most books like that. Also, I'm sure some of those people are also people who have not listened to audiobooks before, so they really don't have anything to compare it to.
The article mentioned that some people are looking for free material, which they sometimes find on YouTube, or elsewhere, and that is more likely to be AI. If you've never done audiobooks, you might think that is fine.
Please lets keep actors as narrators. Hopefully that does not make me a dinosaur but I am sick of AI.
Rachel wrote: "Please lets keep actors as narrators. Hopefully that does not make me a dinosaur but I am sick of AI."I totally agree. I don't think the real lovers of audiobooks would stand for AI. There's a thread of us ranting about this.
I agree. It's an art. I was just suggesting that the numbers are a bit inflated because most people who listen to audiobooks don't want AI. I think there is curiosity around it and people who don't listen to audiobooks might be interested because they don't know better. So the number is high, but there's no way 70% of audiobook listeners still want AI books. I also understand accepting them if you need free books, but that's not a preference. I think you're in the majority on this one, Rachel.
As I mentioned in the other thread, there have always been people who needed "Talking books" because of sight issues. Long ago, they were on records, then cassettes, now digital. My brother used to volunteer at "Reading for the Blind" where people could request textbooks or anything really, to be read aloud. The volunteers were told to read everything "straight". But for decades, computers have been able to do that for people with visual challenges. That's all fine, but we know the difference a great narrator makes. I'm positive that Audible would never have had the success it has if it only used AI voices.I think you are right, Kristie, many of the people saying there are ok with AI audios have never listened to audiobooks, they are just speaking theoretically.
Before purchasing an audiobook, I always listen to the performance first. A cpl books I browsed were AI narrated and after listening to the sample opted to purchase the digital book & read it instead. If a necessity, I can see why ppl ‘might’ accept AI but the quality (at this point) cannot compare. Even though they generally cost less (and if they eventually improve in quality), I simply have a gut reaction/principle against giving more jobs over to AI. It’s a concern, as I see it.
Rachel wrote: "How would a listener know if it is AI?"If it is an Audible book, the narrator is listed as Virtual Voice.
Robin P wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Please lets keep actors as narrators. Hopefully that does not make me a dinosaur but I am sick of AI."I totally agree. I don't think the real lovers of audiobooks would stand for A..."
I've commented on the other thread previously from an author's perspective. I want humanity in my narrations. I want the actor's interpretation but I fear that AI will takeover. It's cheaper for the publishing companies to produce. Add in AI translation including audio translation and the cost of delivery will be lower. Narrators will be squeezed out.
Fake famous voices will follow with small print or terms stating in the manner of or some such legal get around - we already have fake famous authors! i.e books written by dead authors.
I'm writing a book now based from the perspective of 2037 where AI has destroyed many creative arts. Fake video, CGI and music. It's not something I look forward to.
And no I have not used AI for actual work. I have tried some sites to test and see, but I don't like it.
Philip wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Please lets keep actors as narrators. Hopefully that does not make me a dinosaur but I am sick of AI."I totally agree. I don't think the real lovers of audiobooks w..."
Thank you, Philip! Yes, the technology is there to steal the voices of actors - and of course to write the books in the first place (as well as music, film, etc.) Pretty scary.
In my opinion, we need to refuse to listen to audiobooks performed by "virtual voices." Even if a voice sounds similar to a real person, the machine cannot distinguish context or nuance. It can "read straight" but if you want any type of performance, an AI machine cannot provide it.
Rachel wrote: "How would a listener know if it is AI?"You can tell by listening.
My husband hasn't listened to many audiobooks. One book he started recently without noticing the narrator. It was AI (Virtual Voice) and he didn't like it one bit, and quit listening to the book.
There are a few books out there that have a name that doesn't say Virtual Voice or AI Generated. I found one as "Walter Brown". you can tell it is a computer generated voice.
Joy D wrote: "In my opinion, we need to refuse to listen to audiobooks performed by "virtual voices." Even if a voice sounds similar to a real person, the machine cannot distinguish context or nuance. It can "re..."This. There is no comparison to a human voice.
Audiobooks have been my go-to for a few years now. I listen to preview clips before buying/borrowing. This determines where my time/money goes. If it's not human voiced, it's a waste of time.
Rachel wrote: "Please lets keep actors as narrators. Hopefully that does not make me a dinosaur but I am sick of AI."Definitely! I support narrators. But this shift in AI-narrated audiobooks is massive at the moment. It doesn't help that the big players promote it.
APA’s Consumer Survey found that more than half of Americans age 18 and older–51%– have listened to an audiobook. There’s also been an increase in the number of Americans who state they’re interested in trying out an audiobook, 38% in 2025 as compared to 32% the previous year. Americans indicating they’re “very interested” in trying an audiobook has gone from 10% in 2024 to 18% in 2025.
Perhaps among the most interesting findings is that willingness to try audiobooks performed by artificial intelligence (AI) has dropped from 77% in 2023 to 70% in 2025. Though still a high number, it calls to question the experience listeners are having when it comes to machine-generated performances over trained, practiced human talent.
https://bookriot.com/audio-publishers....