Text to speech (TTS) is an assistive technology that automatically converts text to an artificial spoken language. It does not playback recorded speech. Instead, it uses plain text as input for generating human-like speech. TTS uses AI capabilities and deploys natural semantic analysis techniques to make practical judgments on words that require particular emphasis. The speech synthesis feature enables the tool to adjust the speed and frequency for correct and natural pronunciation.
TTS technology has become more accessible than ever before, and one can download it on their smartphones to ‘read aloud’ the digital texts with the help of online text-to-speech converter tool. Some advanced tools also have optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities, enabling the TTS tools to read text aloud from images. The two essential components of a TTS synthesis system are NLP (natural language processing) stage to operate on the input text and the speech generation stage for producing the desired output. The exchange of data and commands between these two stages helps the tool to create natural, life-like, and intelligible speech.
SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) plays a vital role in the entire process. An XML-based markup language allows the developer to specify how the TTS tool will convert the input text into synthesized speech. The defined SSML tags help control various aspects of the speech and make various tweaks and adjustments to the production of the synthetic voices. It allows the developer to ascribe more natural sounds to artificial speech or correct common mispronunciations. Using SSML, they can add various things such as breaks and pauses, adjust pitch, speed up a slow down the pace, and change speech cadence, among different other things to make it more effective.
There are various applications of TTS tools. It can be used in many ways, and some key industries which are extensively using it are:
Banking And Finance
TTS technology is significantly improving the business-consumer relationship dynamics. Banks and financial institutions are now evolving customer experience through innovative solutions like TTS. It helps to improve the banking experience for customers who face problems with reading screens, such as at ATMs. TTS also enhances customers’ mobile banking experience and enables organizations to make the customer journey more accessible and personalized.
Travel And Tourism
The end goal of the adoption of the TTS tool is to improve accessibility for users. The impact of TTS on the travel and tourism industry is profound. The concerned sector includes a text-to-speech widget into their website to automatically read aloud the content on their webpage to help users quickly navigate through the site and make their reservations. The TTS tool is helping to leverage the audio tour and enables the hospitality industry to overcome the language barrier. They can now offer such audio tours in numerous languages, all at the same time. Moreover, while traveling, passengers require real-time information. With the TTS tool, travel companies can quickly input text data and provide voice announcements on time.
Advertising
The influence of TTS technology in the marketing landscape is undeniable. Voice is the next major disruptor in advertising. Brands that want to reach better to their customers need more effective advertising techniques. Including TTS speech synthesis in various customers, touchpoints can help a brand stand out and push prospective customers down the sales funnel. The inclusion of TTS on web pages or videos to immediately convert text to sound can help to emphasize certain aspects and advertise more effectively.
E-learning
Text-to-speech also has various pedagogical capabilities. It has the potential to enhance writing, vocabulary, and reading. TTS has the possibility of being a learning tool that can bring static content, like ebooks, PDFs, and other training documents, to life. Instead of reading through long passages, users can convert them into playable audio with the TTS tool to immediately render words into speech. Text-To-Speech also helps to create accessible e-learning modules for helping differently-abled learners. Visually impaired persons or those who face difficulties in reading can easily access digital textual content to overcome learning obstacles. TTS tool supports bimodal learning and helps to build a more accessible world.
Telecommunications
In telecommunications, Text-To-Speech systems have various applications. It helps offer customized messaging to customers, and it helps build a solid interactive voice response (IVR) system. It can read customers’ records from a database instead of employing human operators. It can help them improve current IVR services and create new ones by facilitating improved interaction with customers. It helps to make customer interactions more personal and intelligent. It helps to make the conversation more natural, and customers can carry out their needs more efficiently.
Hence, most industries are now using the TTS tool to improve their operational fluency and customer experience. It has helped to make services more accessible to customers at various levels. Hence, TTS is one of the most valuable for different industries.