The favorability of AI narration pertains to engagement and perceived quality. The survey work focused on character-driven fiction books, which represent the most prevalent audiobook category in today’s market, according to Edison.
Metric results are HERE.
One very interesting result of the study, beyond the basic favorability of AI narration, is that 61% of respondents could not tell the difference between AI and human narration.
Can’t tell difference
More than one thousand adult U.S. audiobook listeners were recruited for the study. The literature selected was a newly published science fiction thriller.
Edison asserts that its research offers the first large-scale look at how consumers respond to AI technology integrating distinct voices for each speaking character, a format historically reserved for full-cast human productions.
“Up to now, we’d only measured consumers’ opinions on the concept of AI narration,” said Megan Lazovick, vice president of Edison Research. “For the first time, we were able to measure real-time reactions to excerpts from an actual audiobook. Would there be a difference in acceptance between AI narration and human? What about listeners’ willingness to listen or purchase? Could they distinguish the AI version from human? What we found was a clear signal that quality matters, no matter how the narration is produced, and listeners are open to whatever improves their experience.”
Phil Marshall, CEO of Spoken, speaks to the survey as an audiobook fan himself, and sees the survey result as win-win for producers and consumers: “At the end of the day, what readers want will drive decisions in the industry. High-quality, multi-cast narration is what readers want, and a less expensive, one-click solution is what authors and publishers want.”