YouTube Shorts adds TikTok-style voiceover

YouTube has announced a set of new features for short videos, some of which are available now, such as text-to-speech. This feature allows you to add a voiceover and works similar to TikTok.

Image source: Azamat E / Unsplash

The voiceover announcement comes from YouTube’s help page, which describes the latest developments regarding short videos. According to the post, voiceover will allow creators to “add another layer of creative expression” by infusing their Shorts with additional storytelling. This editing process will be possible after the videos are uploaded directly to the video hosting site, but before they are published.

Image source: YouTube

In addition, the company is introducing automatically generated subtitles that can be added to videos without using third-party applications such as CapCut. Users can change the style of subtitles by choosing a font and color from a selection of options. At the same time, the process of adding a voice is similar to TikTok, that is, after creating the text, the user can select the desired robotic voice from the proposed four options (there are many more of them in TikTok) and add it to his video. There is also a new set of effects in the style of the Minecraft game with a green background and a mini-game called Minecraft Rush.

The latest additions to YouTube Shorts continue the trend of borrowing ideas between the two biggest video content platforms. YouTube regularly adopts something from TikTok, and TikTok, in turn, increases the maximum length of videos. YouTube’s efforts to make Shorts more like TikTok appear to be paying off for both the company and content creators.