We recently launched a new feature in Google Ads that lets you add a voice-over to your YouTube video ads using Google’s text-to-speech technology.
When it comes to advertising on YouTube, audio is your superpower for getting people to pay attention and take action. We’ve studied what drives results across thousands of ads on YouTube and our research shows that audio elements like music, sound effects and voice-over contribute significantly.
Knowing the importance of audio elements, combined with the challenges that come with creating or changing voice-over, we set out to make it easy and fast for every ad to have a quality voice-over. Powered by the best of Google’s AI technologies, this new feature converts text input into natural-sounding speech that you can overlay on a YouTube video.
The voice-overs are near human quality and optimized for advertising. We partnered with copywriters and advertising professionals to identify common voice-over styles across a variety of industry verticals and brand personas. And then we modeled those styles on 5,000 YouTube ads to develop 7 different voices.
Available directly from the asset library in Google Ads, simply type in your script, select your preferred voice and with one click, we’ll overlay your voice-over onto your video. You can try out multiple different options, either with different scripts or different voices, and experiment to find which one works best for your goals.
Listen to this video ad for Sony. The Sony team selected a voice-over for their 15 and 30-second video ads and, using Video experiments, proved that the voice-over ad drove 25% higher ad recall and 50% lower cost per lifted user than the original asset with background music alone.1
"Prior to the availability of Google's voice-over feature, half of our creative did not feature voice-over," said Maya Wasserman, Head of Marketing for Home Entertainment and Sound at Sony Electronics. "Now that we've employed this feature we see how impactful narration can be and the results have surpassed our expectations and business goals."
As a marketer, we understand the need to represent your brand authentically by selecting a voice that embodies your brand’s personality and resonates with your audience. That’s why we offer a choice of 7 voices (4 male and 3 female) in English (US). These voices represent distinct personas, vocal timbre, projection and speaking styles which allows you to cast just the right voice for your ad creative. For example, if your brand exudes luxury, relaxation or warmth, a voice with a smooth baritone or easy demeanor could be a great fit. On the other hand, if your brand aims to connect with a younger audience, a youthful, informal and upbeat voice might be the right choice. We encourage you to explore all the voices available in Google Ads.
In addition to English, we currently offer general text-to-speech voices in the following languages: Filipino, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Malaysian, Mandarin, Spanish and Swedish. We plan to add more ad voices and languages in the future.
Audio elements create a rich, sensory experience that helps people pay attention on YouTube, where most people watch videos with sound on. And, when used to complement and reinforce what is happening on screen, audio elements help improve your performance. For help getting started, visit the Google Ads Help Center.
Posted by Prithvi Prabhakar, Product Manager, YouTube Ads and Sheenam Maheshwari, Product Manager, Google Assistant
1. Source: Google Ads data, 9/8/21-10/4/21
