YouTube rolls out more natural auto-dubbing, adds language controls
Automatic dubbing on YouTube is now publicly available and supports 27 languages. The company says that in December, an average of more than 6 million users watched at least 10 minutes of auto-dubbed content every day. This is a sign that viewers are increasingly comfortable watching videos beyond their native language.
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To make dubbed videos feel less robotic, YouTube introduced “Expressive Speech” in eight languages, including English, Hindi, French, and Spanish, to better preserve the creator’s tone and emotion. The platform is also testing a lip-syncing feature that expertly matches translated audio to the speaker’s mouth movements.
Viewers also have more control. The new Preferred Language setting allows users to choose whether they want to watch a video in its original language or dubbed version, rather than relying solely on YouTube’s automatic language selection.
Meanwhile, content creators have the tools to stay in control. YouTube says smart filters can detect that videos should not be dubbed, such as music-only content or silent vlogs. The company says automatic dubbing won’t hurt the video’s reach and may even help it find viewers in new regions. Creators can also upload their own dubs or turn off the feature entirely.
Also Read: YouTube rolls out new updates to personalize teens’ viewing experienceYouTube’s move comes as Meta expands AI-powered translations to Facebook and Instagram. In January, Meta began rolling out Reel translations in more Indian languages, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada, building on existing support for English, Hindi, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Meta’s AI translation tool automatically dubs and lip-syncs Reels using a creator’s own voice, allowing creators to review or remove translations at any time. This feature is available to Facebook creators with more than 1,000 followers and all public Instagram accounts.
