Well, it’s certainly been an interesting year…
From what I’ve seen, both as a voice talent and a casting agent, and from the conversations happening among talents and agencies worldwide, it’s clear the industry is shifting. The wind has that strange, unpredictable feel to it. Clients who used to happily book recordings are suddenly more interested in renewing old licenses, and many are leaning on AI for anything they think they can “get away with.”
But here’s the thing; that doesn’t mean we as voice artists are supposed to roll over and play dead.
Yes, AI is everywhere. Yes, some brands are experimenting with it because it’s fast and cheap. But at the same time, there’s a growing wave pushing against it. People who care about ethics, authenticity, brand identity, or simply the emotional nuance that AI still can’t reproduce. There’s a reason so many companies are quietly (or loudly) switching back to real voices after trying AI once.
And here’s something else I’ve started noticing now that the AI hype has settled into something more… realistic.
When clients realize AI isn’t the holy grail they hoped for, they do want a real human voice – but they want it for a fraction of the cost. Because they know AI would be cheaper, suddenly that becomes the benchmark they expect humans to match.
That’s where things get messy.
“We’d love to use a real voice, but we only have a tiny budget, as this is the only way to not use AI instead.”
Let me hold your hand when I say this:
This is NOT a valid reason to underpay voice talents.
I get a little passionate writing this. Deep breaths everyone… Let me explain.
AI is the client’s problem, not the talent’s discount code.
If a client wants to avoid AI because it harms quality, credibility, or compliance, that’s great, but it should be their incentive, not a reason for the voice talents to work for less. We shouldn’t have to aid their ethics or brand choices at the expense of our own income. You wouldn’t ask an electrician for a discount either because “there are cheap robots now.”
Charging less to compete with AI does not protect the industry – it erodes it.
If human voices become available at AI-ish prices, clients learn very quickly that they never have to budget realistically again. Then we’re all stuck playing limbo with rates that keep going lower, and the gap between profitable human work and cheap automated output keeps widening.
And when the pros start taking those “AI panic prices,” the whole middle of the market collapses. New talents can’t get fair rates, experienced talents can’t sustain careers, and clients get used to unrealistic deals. It’s a slow erosion of the entire industry. Nobody wins except the clients who want premium results for pocket change.
And once a client gets a human voice for a “special reduced AI-fear price,” guess what the budget is next time? Yup, that same number. And probably for a bigger project.
The real competition is quality and trust, not price.
Professional voice artists compete on performance, reliability, experience, emotional nuance, sound quality, problem-solving, and branding – not on being a cheaper alternative to an algorithm. Trying to beat AI on price is a losing game.
AI might be cheap or free. That has nothing to do with what your work, your unique voice and your time is worth. Your rate reflects usage rights, performance, equipment, studio quality, training, revisions, availability, deadlines, and reputation.
Ethical clients budget for humans
If a brand truly values real voices, they budget accordingly. If they don’t, that’s not your burden to carry. Plenty of brands brag about using real human voices now. If they’re using that as a selling point, they’re absolutely capable of budgeting for it.
The takeaway is simple:
Clients can choose AI if they want automation. But if they want humanity, they need to value it.
That means fair budgets, fair licensing, and respect for the craft, not expecting human talent to match machine pricing.
We can adapt, innovate, and evolve with the changes, but we don’t have to shrink to fit them.
[/rant]
