Microsoft adds nine more realistic-sounding AI voices for Azure AI service users

In September 2023, Microsoft’s Azure team revealed their plans to release a series of convincingly human-like AI voices for business clients. Recently, Microsoft announced that nine additional AI voices with a high level of realism are now accessible for these users.

In a recent blog post, Microsoft announced that these voices can be utilized in a multitude of roles and responsibilities, such as for business chatbots, voice assistants, and e-learning positions. They can also add a touch of enjoyment to entertainment and gaming tasks.

Microsoft included:

This expansion broadens our capacity to articulate content across 91 languages ​​and their variants. This advancement underscores our steadfast commitment to surmounting language barriers and promoting a more inclusive and accessible global communication landscape.

The addition of nine new voices is applicable to every region within Azure and consists of the following:

• en-US-AvaMultilingualNeural
• en-US-AndrewMultilingualNeural
• en-US-EmmaMultilingualNeural
• en-US-BrianMultilingualNeural
• De-DE-FlorianMultilingualNeural,
• De-DE-SeraphinaMultilingualNeural
• Fr-FR- RemyMultilingualNeural
• Fr-FR-VivienneMultilingualNeural
• zh-CN-XiaoxiaoMultiligualNeural

Each new voice possesses a unique style and tone. For instance, according to Microsoft, the en-US-AvaMultilingualNeural voice has a “bright and engaging female voice with a beautiful tone,”while the en-US-AndrewMultilingualNeural voice is a “warm and engaging male voice that exudes a welcoming personality.”

According to Microsoft, certain voices are more suitable for particular tasks. The en-US-EmmaMultilingualNeural version has been described as a “warm, cheerful, and affable female voice that is particularly effective for educational and explanatory purposes.”

Microsoft has announced that the En-US-RyanMultilingual voice is now widely accessible for all Azure regions in GA. Additionally, the En-US-JennyMultilingual voice has been combined with the en-US-JennyMultilingualV2 voice and is now available for all regions.

The company is currently offering a public preview of certain voices, such as the en-IN-NeerjaNeural and hi-IN-SwaraNeural voices. These voices come with three new styles each in the East US, West Europe, and Southeast Asia regions. Additionally, there are new female voices available in preview in Central India, including en-IN-KavyaNeural, en-IN-AnanyaNeural, en-IN-AashiNeural, hi-IN-KavyaNeural, and hi-IN-AnanyaNeural.

Microsoft Azure not only offers a wide selection of natural-sounding AI voices, but also features 400 neural Text-to-Speech voices in over 140 languages.