Meta's AI voice translation feature rolls out globally
On Tuesday, Meta rolled out its new voice dubbing feature globally. The Reels feature uses generative AI to translate your voice, with optional lip-syncing. Mark Zuckerberg first previewed the feature at Meta Connect 2024.
At launch, the translations are only available for English to Spanish (and vice versa). The company says more languages will arrive later. At least at first, it's restricted to Facebook creators with 1,000+ followers. However, anyone with a public Instagram account can use it.
The tool trains on your original voice and generates a translated audio track to match your tone. The lip-syncing add-on then matches your mouth's movements to the translated speech. The demo clip the company showed last year was spot-on — eerily so.
Meta
To use the feature, choose the "Translate your voice with Meta AI" option before publishing a reel. That's also where you can choose to add lip syncing. There's an option to review the AI-translated version before publishing. Viewers will see a pop-up noting that it's an AI translation.
Meta says the feature works best for face-to-camera videos. The company recommends avoiding covering your mouth or including excessive background music. It works for up to two speakers, but it's best to avoid overlapping your speech.
The company frames the feature as a way for creators to expand their audiences beyond their native tongues. As such, it included a by-language performance tracker, so you can see how well it's doing in each language.
YouTube launched a similar feature last year. Apple has gotten in on the action, too: Messages, Phone and FaceTime apps have live translation tools in iOS 26.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/metas-ai-voice-translation-feature-rolls-out-globally-200945034.html?src=rss
