Microsoft recently introduced new natural voices for Narrator in the Windows Insider Build 22543. Improvements to Narrator voices make reading, authoring mail, and web browsing much more realistic. Read on as we detail how you can make the most out of the Narrator’s new natural voices.
What’s the Big Deal With Natural Voices?
Windows has supported a built-in screen-reader for a long time now, but a narration tool that supports natural voices is relatively recent. Robot-like narrations can be unappealing, primarily because they are inexpressive and lack emotion.
The new and improved natural voices are made possible thanks to the incredible speech synthesis capability of Azure Cognitive Services. Developers make use of Neutral Text-to-Speech to convert screen text into a natural human speech.
How to Use Natural Voices In Windows 11 Narrator
The narrator’s natural voices are currently supported in English-US and can be used offline after the initial download.
Here’s how you can set up and use natural voice in the Windows 11 Narrator:
Launch Narrator through the Start menu or through the Accessibility options. After the first launch, the Narrator will automatically announce that new natural voices, namely “Aria” and “Jenny,” are available to be downloaded. Click on Install Now to install the new natural voices now. You should then be redirected to the Narrator page in Windows Settings. Under the Add natural voices tab, select Add. From the dialogue box, choose either Jenny or Aria as your preferred voice. If you want to install both, you’ll have to do so separately. You can preview both options using the Preview button. Once you’ve made your selection, click on Install. After the installation is complete, you may have to manually change the Narrator voice from the Voice dropdown box under Narrator’s voice.
Narrator Gets Even Better in Windows 11
Currently, Microsoft has released natural voices for Narrator to Windows Insiders only. We’re hopeful Microsoft will soon release the updates elsewhere too.
