AI. Oh MY!

Hi. I’m Barb, and I’m a real human. I do real human things like walk our dog, run to the grocery store, do laundry, and yes, occasionally go overboard on the sweets (I’ve got a wicked sweet tooth)! But I’m also a full-time voice actor. I record corporate narration voice overs, audition for national ad campaigns, follow up with producers, keep up with video production contacts, and show up on social media. I like to work fast. I hate making people wait, so most of the time I deliver within 24 hours, and for small eLearning voice over pickups, often within the hour.

Now today, a lot of people are tempted by AI. I get it: free or cheap VO that lets you move on to something else is enticing. I’m here to tell you that all that glitters is not gold.

On the surface, AI seems adequate.  It will give you the words in your document. No more. No less. But when you're producing a high-stakes corporate video narration, a K–12 eLearning module, or a regional commercial spot, you need more than “technically adequate.” AI doesn’t understand tone, storytelling, or emotion. It lacks intuition, imagination, and intention.

When you need warmth in that final line of a heartfelt internal communications video, I’m thinking about that special moment I shared with my dad. When you need a little sass in your retail ad voice over, I’m thinking about that snarky comment I made at dinner. And when you need curiosity and energy in an educational narration, I’m remembering what it felt like to teach my dog a new trick.  But, AI can’t pull from those places to add emphasis, emotion and interest. AI doesn't understand cheerfulness, serenity, comedy or tragedy…severely limiting your storytelling ability. It can’t use pace to slow down when something’s really important, and speed up to convey excitement or make a long list interesting.  And that’s a problem when you’re trying to hold attention in a corporate explainer video, online compliance course, or TV spot with a big CTA.

Everyone likes having choices. Hello, Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors! I often like to give more than one read of a script where I can. I work really hard to make interesting choices with “pre-life”. What’s pre-life? A technique where an actor explores and invents what may have come before the first line of copy. It changes based on the scene you set and who you're talking to. There’s a big difference between talking to a 20 year old and a 6 year old! Pre-life, and countless other techniques we voice actors employ add extra dimension and interest to your script. These are the layers that trained voice talent brings to your corporate training modules, eLearning voice overs, and local ad campaigns, and they’re completely out of reach for artificial voices

Do you remember a time when you really got pulled into a story? Bet you there was a pause somewhere up front. Pauses draw people in, and you want that in your voice performance. AI can’t compute that. And forget natural rhythm. AI robots will deliver text at an even, measured pace…or maybe just a little bit fast to hide its flaws. If you listen to “pre-recorded” podcasts, you get me.

One of the most important things you lose with AI, is your Brand Voice. Campaigns shift slightly depending on the usage or life of the campaign. A great way to maintain that is with live direction and it’s one of my favorite things about Voice Over. Don’t you get a rush from collaborating with a team to achieve a goal? I do! I love joining forces with Creative Directors, Executive Producers, and project teams to get the read just right. When it clicks, we all know it. That’s where relationships are built.

Let’s talk about trust. You likely place a lot of value on trust. You select your doctor and mechanic because you trust them. Heck, you even have a preferred grocery store because you trust their produce will be the freshest. People are skeptics. If they get a whiff of something disingenuous, you can kiss trust goodbye. And when it comes to commercial voiceover, training narration, or any kind of brand communication, a fake voice breaks trust. It sounds inauthentic. And that’s a fast track to losing your audience.​

Now, let’s say you’re teaching something. Imagine a learner listening to an AI-generated voice drone on through a compliance training module or educational video. It misses inflection points. It sounds like white noise. According to eLearning Industry, modules with AI narration often see a 20–30% drop in learner engagement within the first 10 minutes. That’s massive. In contrast, a clear, human voice—warm and well-paced—holds attention longer, boosts retention, and increases repeat use. This is especially true in corporate training voiceovers and K–12 eLearning environments.

(SweetRush. (2024). Human Voiceover: The L&D Advantage for Learner Engagement. Retrieved from SweetRush Study)

And don’t even get me started on pronunciation fails. If you’ve worked in technical narration, medical training, or software demos, you already know how tricky acronyms and drug names can be. AI mispronounces terms constantly. Human voice actors? Tell us once, and we’ve got it.

Let’s say there’s a pickup later. With AI, you have to retype every direction, every style guide, every tag into the system, hoping it doesn’t shift tone, pacing, or emphasis. That’s time lost. That’s your workflow slowed. A trained voice actor knows how to punch in a single corrected line without impacting the flow of the entire project. Savvy voice actors know how to replace just a bit of text without impacting the whole piece, potentially undoing so many things you liked.

Now, I’m not saying AI has no place. It’s useful in background tasks (brainstorming, formatting scripts, organizing outlines). But when you want to teach, persuade, entertain, or engage - when you're building a relationship with your viewer or your customer - you need the human touch.

So if you’re a Creative Director, Executive Producer, or Project Manager working on corporate videos, eLearning training modules, or regional and national commercials, I’m here. I’d love to help you bring your script to life.And we might just have a little fun while we’re at it.