Should voice actors be worried about AI in 2026?
Yes.
…I’m just kidding. AI is changing the game, but it’s not ruining the game — and I want to talk about why.
I’ll be honest: I’m pretty tired of hearing about this. Most people don’t really understand what AI does or what its limitations are. Corporations are pumping billions into it when it’s not clear anyone actually wants it. Every time an AI voiceover hits the internet, the crowd tears it apart. It’s very obvious that humans want human creators — and that AI is becoming something of a forced adoption.
I could talk about this subject all day, and I’m not going to pretend one blog post solves or explains everything. It’s a massive, multifaceted issue developing faster than any of us can keep up with. But I do want to give you three frameworks to filter the AI noise through, so you can focus on what you can actually control and take massive action on it.
Framework #1: Good models require good input
In the absolute worst-case scenario — where no human is ever doing voiceover again, which is not going to happen — you still need models built on good data. And the only thing that can provide good data, legally and ethically, is good voices.
As a side note: you’re seeing a lot of companies get sued right now for acquiring their training data unethically, and I think that trend is going to continue. I’m all about it. Good actors will always be in demand. Good artists, good musicians, real talent — these are the things that make you rise to the top, even in a world where AI is replicating what you do. Because it’s replicating, not creating something new. Feed it garbage, and it produces garbage. Anyone who’s tried to write an email with ChatGPT can tell you that. There’s real value in your talent. Keep developing it.
Framework #2: Consent and compensation
I’m borrowing this one from the National Association of Voice Actors — NAVA — led by my good friends Tim Friedlander and Carin Gilfry, two of the most brilliant advocates for voice actors on the planet. They’ve literally been in DC helping shape the legislation that puts guardrails on these tools. I donate to NAVA, I support them, and I encourage you to do the same however you can.
Stopping the use of AI voices probably isn’t within your control as an actor. We can’t put the genie back in the bottle, so we have to look at how we adapt — and that comes down to consent and compensation.
Your likeness is your intellectual property. It can’t be used without your consent. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to clone my voice and have me say horrible things, endorse brands or politicians I find repugnant, or push messages that run counter to my beliefs. That’s my likeness. That’s the consent piece.
The compensation piece: when you use something I developed — me — for your game or project, you pay me for it. I do believe legislation will catch up to this. But in the meantime, be very careful what rights you give away when you sign voiceover contracts. NAVA provides a rider you can attach to any contract to keep clients from using your voice in ways you never intended.
Read your contracts. Be smart about which auditions you go out for. Don’t give away the farm. There are exploitative clients out there actively trying to steal your voice — a minority, I firmly believe, but enough that you need to keep your head on a swivel, especially with boilerplate contract language where you can accidentally sign those rights away.
Quick aside: if you want to keep up with where the industry is actually heading — AI, contracts, and the business of staying booked — get it in your inbox. Sign up for the LVA newsletter.
Framework #3: The power of the human relationship
Here’s one thing I can tell you for certain, having been an insider in both Hollywood and independent voiceover for over 12 years: while there’s a dramatic overemphasis on networking — and I hate that word — there is no substitute for genuine human-to-human relationships.
The public perception of AI art right now is extremely bad. The projects you actually need to worry about losing to AI are the ones nobody cared about much in the first place — which, yes, will pull a certain slice of low-end work out of the industry. But the people whose voices power that work should be consenting to it and getting paid for it. And I don’t think it’s nearly as much work as people fear. The moment audiences even catch a whiff of an AI voice in a game, the developers get torn apart online — sometimes even when it didn’t actually happen.
I think a lot of this traces back to the pandemic. The human-connection void it created left a vacuum that AI partially filled — not because people want to interact with AI, but because we stopped being in the same room. We stopped creating collaboratively. Directors stopped showing up to sessions. Everything started feeling less like a team telling a story together and more like a machine feeding a bottom line. It was impersonal, and it showed.
So go out there and cultivate real relationships — and I don’t mean networking, which is gross. I mean this: when you have the chance, get in a room with someone. When you have a community, actually engage in it. Be bold, be friendly, be yourself, be curious. Step outside your booth. Step away from your keyboard. Send messages of encouragement. Ask curious questions. Learn from other people. Remind everyone around you that there’s real value in person-to-person creative connection.
This is the long game. In a sea of AI content, bubbling up to the top can feel impossible — but it happens one personal connection at a time. When a creative director is surrounded by voice actors who are also great people, the question “hmm, should I use a robot instead?” starts to feel a little silly.
Control what you can control
With AI — and really every other industry trend — figure out what you can control, let go of what you can’t, and embrace the part that’s yours. There’s more you can influence than you think.
AI is not taking down our industry. In some ways it’s expanded it: people who never would have hired a voice actor now have the option of a synthesized voice — for which, if they’re smart, someone gave consent and got fairly compensated. Try to free yourself from a scarcity mindset and step into one of abundance. See how you can reframe the problem in a way that moves us forward instead of just spitting into the wind.
This is exactly why community sits at the center of how we teach at LVA — surrounding yourself with other actors who push you is half the battle in a world like this. If you want to see how that fits into building a real voice acting career, I run a free masterclass that lays out the whole picture. No experience required, completely free. Register for the free masterclass here.