Amazon is aiming to speed up production of its Audible audiobooks by inviting a small group of narrators to clone their voices using generative artificial intelligence. The U.S. beta test will roll out later this year according to Amazon, which announced the move on Audible’s creator marketplace. “There is a vast catalog of books that does not yet exist in audio and as we explore ways to bring more books to life on Audible, we’re committed to thoughtfully balancing the interests of authors, narrators, publishers, and listeners,” Amazon explains.

Participants will be asked to submit a sample voice recording that Amazon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) “will turn into a high-quality replica of the participant’s own voice” that can be submitted for auditions across both AI generated or live performances, according to the ACX blog.

Amazon says that “during the beta, participants will be able to create a voice replica for free.” This suggests potentially adding upfront costs if the feature evolves into a commercial service.

The ACX marketplace blog says narrators will be compensated on a “title-by-title basis” using a “Royalty Share” model but didn’t provide any baseline pricing.

Narrators will “retain control over the projects they wish to audition for,” and will be able to “use Amazon’s production tools to edit the pronunciation and pacing of their AI voice replica if a rights holder selects them for a project, alongside reviewing the final production for any errors or inaccuracies,” reports The Verge.

“This beta offering will empower participants to expand their production capabilities for high-quality audiobooks, generate new business by taking on more projects simultaneously and increase their earning potential,” according to Audible.

But The Verge notes the prospect of AI narration concerns popular narrators like Ramon de Ocampo, who worries the feature may reduce job opportunities for live readings. “As outlets like Brian’s Book Blog have noted, Audible currently doesn’t provide an easy way for users to filter out these ‘Virtual Voice’ audiobooks if they’re aiming to avoid them,” The Verge writes.

“Last year, Amazon began offering U.S.-based, self-published authors who make their books available on the Kindle Store the option of having their works narrated by a generic ‘virtual voice,’” writes Bloomberg, noting that “the initiative has been popular,” with “more than 40,000 books in Audible marked as having made use of the technology” as of May.