Text to Voice API: What It Is and How It Works?

A text to voice or text to speech API converts written text into an audio form. Now, text to voice APIs can produce speech that sounds natural and can be difficult to distinguish from an actual human voice.

Text to voice applications are finding new uses, from broadcasting to video production and many others. This technology is something every business should know about.

How Does Text to Voice Work?

Text-to-speech has been available since the early 1970s when it was used as assistive technology for blind persons. They could “read” written text by having the device read it back to them.

It was later expanded for use by those who have difficulty speaking. They could type the message into a computer, and the TTS device would speak it for them.

 

The first TTS devices produced speech that sounded robotic or artificial. Now, the technology has advanced to the state where it is difficult to tell whether it is a human or TTS device.

Devices can now add inflection and respond to punctuation, like exclamation points or question marks. This technology is also known as “read aloud.”

 

Text to voice technology works by reading strings of characters typed into a keyboard. It then matches these characters with known units of sound in a particular language that are stored in a sound database. For example, it knows the sound of the letter “p” or combinations, like “at”.

It then produces a sound that matches the phoneme, or language snippet, from its sound file. In this case, it would produce the word “pat” by combining p+at. Now, machine learning allows the device to mimic human voices in a way that makes it sound like that person is speaking, and many are quite convincing.

Uses for a Text to Voice API

Text to voice systems are no longer limited in use to those who need assistance reading or speaking. An application programming interface (API) allows them to integrate with many types of software. Some text to speech systems can even support multiple languages or dialects.

 

Read-aloud technology is being used to help kids learn to read. It can be used to read a document or book manuscript for editing purposes. It is also being used by YouTubers to generate “faceless” videos where they write what they want to say and allow the technology to do the voiceover for the video. Speech synthesis technology opens new frontiers in many areas.

How Businesses Use Text to Voice

Almost everyone has interacted with a text to voice API because it is the technology behind business call centers. When a customer calls into the system, it can route calls or provide a message according to how the customer responds using their dial pad. For instance, it can route them to the correct support person when they press “1”. This software can also transform your text messages into a custom message to send to potential customers.

 

Text to voice technology offers many possibilities for automation. Businesses use them to send messages out to a contact list for lead generation. This means you can send the message out to a large contact list without the need for individual cold calling.

Your sales team will only need to respond to potential customers who indicated they were interested, which allows you to launch a more targeted campaign.

Text to voice can also develop an automated support system that helps educate customers and provide answers to basic questions they might have.

Language is no longer a barrier in call center operations. Many systems can support multiple languages, so you can send calls anywhere in the world. You can set them up to send appointment reminders, alerts, and any other type of message.

Text to speech allows you to preschedule automated voice messages to mobile or landlines. Systems can call the number and detect whether a human, fax, or voice mail answers.

It can then provide a message and an interactive response. It is an excellent resource for outbound call centers and many other business types. Systems are easy to set up and are convenient to use for call centers and customers, making them an excellent resource for many business needs.