In June 2023, YouTube started testing an AI tool to help people watch videos in languages they didn’t understand. Now, that experiment has become a real feature called automatic dubbing. This tool translates spoken words in videos into different languages, making it easier for creators to reach a worldwide audience.
The technology behind this feature comes from Aloud, a dubbing service created under Google’s Area 120 incubator. Its goal is to break language barriers and make YouTube videos enjoyable for everyone, no matter their language.
YouTube shared examples of the feature in a blog post. One video was dubbed from French to English, another from Hindi to English, and a third supports nine languages, including Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, German, French, Indonesian, and the original English. Although only a few videos are available now, this feature is gradually rolling out to creators globally.
How It Works for Viewers:
If a video is dubbed, viewers can find an “Audio Track” option by tapping the settings (gear icon). The available languages will be listed there. You can also check the video description for a section labeled “Auto-dubbed” under the “How this content was made” section.
For Creators:
The AI dubbing feature is enabled automatically for creators in the YouTube Partner Program, especially those making educational or knowledge-sharing videos. The AI dubs the video into multiple languages, like French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. Creators can review and edit the dubbed versions in YouTube Studio. If they’re not happy with the result, they can delete specific dubbed tracks or all of them.
While the dubbed audio isn’t lip-synced to match the speaker’s movements, the technology still delivers clear translations, even in fast-paced videos like cooking tutorials. YouTube plans to expand this feature to more types of content soon.
This update is a big step toward making YouTube content accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or what language they speak.
Source: indiatoday
