Voice AI startup ElevenLabs on Wednesday introduced a feature that lets you upload different types of content to create a multispeaker podcast for you, similar to Google’s NotebookLM.
The feature, called GenFM, can be found on the company’s ElevenLabs Reader iOS app. Currently, GenFM supports 32 languages, including English, Hindi, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and others.
To use GenFM, you first upload a YouTube video, text, or document. The app then picks out two voices automatically to create a podcast. There are over a dozen voices available, the company notes.
One of the interesting screens you might see when the app prepares an AI-generated podcast is “Sprinkling some umms” and “adding some thoughtful pauses.” At a time when tools are helping humans remove “Ums” and “Ahs,” ElevenLabs is adding human elements to its AI-generated podcast.
“We debated about how much to introduce ‘ums,’ ‘ahs,’ ‘mhmms’/ laughter/breathing similar human dialogue fillers or overlays — we’re aiming to strike the right balance of natural, human conversation and providing utility from the content,” Jack McDermott, who looks after mobile growth at ElevenLabs, told TechCrunch over email.
“As we look at exceptional long-form podcasts out there, we find [fewer] interruptions and more natural, insightful conversation flow,” he said. “That type of experience is ultimately what we’re aiming for while making audio narratives more accessible across voices and languages.”
Going forward, ElevenLabs plans to support more customization and the ability to add multiple sources to create a generative AI podcast.
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In September, Google launched the ability to create AI-generated conversations with NotebookLM from the sources you provided. A month later, the company added the ability for users to customize these AI-generated podcast outputs.
Earlier this month, ElevenLabs announced it’s investing $11 million into the Polish startup ecosystem and opening an office in Warsaw, which will be the company’s R&D center to attract local AI talent. The startup also said that it is expanding into India, where it has hired a business head and is now building a team. The company also launched conversation AI agents for its customers.
