One of the most exciting advancements in technology for podcasting is the integration of artificial intelligence into podcasting tools. With these tools, podcasters just starting can easily create high-quality results whether it’s creating a script or editing your podcast audio. So, this article gives you a breakdown of audio editing tools that use AI and when you would want to incorporate these tools into your workflow.
How Can AI Help You Edit Your Podcast Audio?
AI can be your audio technician, automating and streamlining a variety of audio editing tasks such as:
- Noise Reduction: After analyzing an audio file, AI can identify background noises and automatically remove them.
- Leveling: Going beyond a simple compressor, you can use AI to level the volume of every voice in your podcast to maintain a consistent loudness.
- Equalization: With AI at your side, you can ensure your podcast delivers consistent sound quality across devices.
- Transcription: By reliably converting audio into text, AI gives you the benefits of transcribing your podcast without the work or expenses.
- Removing filler words: AI can identify and remove common filler words, contributing to a more polished and concise podcast.
Top 4 AI Podcast Editors
Recently, we’ve seen a surge in the number of AI podcast editors hitting the market. But let’s be real, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack when it comes to spotting genuine high-quality tools. Most are just riding the ‘AI’ trend wave and using it as a shiny badge rather than offering real, impactful features. So, we’re going to help you cut through the noise by highlighting the top 4 AI podcast editors currently available on the market with one that’s still in beta.
- Descript
Descript is a comprehensive tool for editing both the audio and video of your podcast. It provides a suite of features to support every stage of the podcasting process, from development to distribution. A few key features of Descript include:
- Filler word removal: One of the standout features of Descript is its ability to remove filler words automatically. It can detect and eliminate common filler words like ‘you know,’ ‘um,’ and ‘uhh’ to make the episode flow smoother.
- Cloud media library: Descript’s cloud media library auto-saves all your assets in the cloud, making it easy to organize and filter your saved files. This feature is handy for collaborative projects, as all team members can access the same files.
- AI overdub: The Overdub feature in Descript allows you to create incredibly realistic text-to-speech audio based on your voice. This can be useful for filling in gaps in your recording or making minor changes without needing to re-record. In addition to your voice, Descript provides a range of highly realistic stock voices.
You can get started using Descript with their free trial that allows you to edit up to 10 minutes of your podcast. Beyond that, their $12 per month plan includes editing up to 60 minutes of audio while their $24 per month plan offers unlimited access.
- Resound
Resound is an AI-powered podcast editor designed to automate the post-production process, freeing up creators to focus on content. It was founded by professional audio engineers allowing its audio editing capabilities to shine with an extremely easy-to-use interface. Three features that make Resound unique include:
- Silence detection: Automation is at the core of Resound’s silence detection feature. It identifies and removes silences longer than 3 seconds in the audio, enabling you to shorten your episode, improve pacing, and enhance listener retention with the click of a button.
- Audio trimming: To make Resound a complete podcast editing solution, it simplifies audio editing processes like audio trimming. With a simple click and drag, you can make your edits to refine your content easily.
- Sound quality enhancement: Mastering audio quality is an important aspect of any podcast, and Resound’s enhance feature takes care of this. It can automatically mix and master your podcast, remove background noise, level and normalize audio, polish the sound, and export at optimal loudness standards.
Just like Descript, Resound also offers a free trial you can use to process one hour of audio per month. They also offer a $12 per month plan with 4 hours of processed audio, a $24 per month plan with 10 hours of processed audio, and a $49 per month plan with 30 hours of processed audio.
- Adobe Podcast
Adobe Podcast provides AI-powered audio tools to create high-quality podcasts and voiceovers. It’s designed to simplify and professionalize the recording and editing process, allowing creators to focus more on their content.
- Mic check: Before recording, Adobe Podcast provides a tool to fix microphone issues. This feature helps you get the best setup from your microphone and recording environment, ensuring optimal recording quality.
- Browser compatibility: Adobe Podcast Studio allows you to record, edit, and enhance your audio directly in your browser. This feature simplifies the podcasting process by providing an all-in-one platform for all your podcasting needs.
- Pre-edited royalty-free music: With Adobe Podcast, you don’t have to worry about finding the right music for your podcast. It offers podcast-ready sound collections with intros, outros, transition sounds, and background music, all pre-edited and royalty-free.
Since Adobe Podcast is currently in beta, you can only request access to use it. This puts you on a waitlist for access so its availability is not guaranteed.
- Cleanvoice
Cleanvoice is an AI tool designed to streamline the audio editing process for podcasters. It aims to help podcasters achieve a more polished and professional sound quality without the learning curve associated with audio editing. A few key features include:
- Background noise remover: To enhance the clarity of your content, Cleanvoice AI can remove any background noise and reverb from your audio recordings. This allows you to add a consistent reverb to all of your recordings regardless of their recorded location.
- Mouth sound remover: Cleanvoice can find and remove mouth sounds such as lip smacks, saliva crackles, and mouth clicks. This feature helps to keep your podcasts engaging and free of distractions.
- Stutter remover: To make conversations flow more naturally, Cleanvoice can identify and eliminate various forms of stuttering from your audio. This feature smooths out speech patterns, ensuring that your content maintains a steady, understandable rhythm that enhances listener engagement.
You can try Cleanvoice for free with up to 30 minutes of audio processing. Beyond that, Cleanvoice offers subscriptions or pay-as-you-go pricing. The pay-as-you-go pricing allows you to purchase audio processing per hour in 5-hour increments. This gives you more flexibility on how you use your audio processing, but it costs more per hour of audio processing than its subscription alternatives.
Can AI Outperform a Professional Audio Editor?
Let’s keep it real. While we’re singing praises for AI and its lightning-fast efficiency, we can’t overlook the unique charm that comes with the human touch. Yes, AI can be useful and quick, but it might need more creative flair and instinct that a professional podcast editor brings to the table. Sometimes, those ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ we so eagerly want to remove can add a dash of authenticity, making conversations feel more genuine and relatable.
But let’s give credit where it’s due. When it comes to tasks like noise reduction and audio leveling, AI executes exceptionally well. It can complete these tasks quickly and efficiently allowing you to focus more on creating your podcast and less on editing it.
So, although a seasoned professional audio editor can create higher-quality results, AI’s accessibility and low cost make it a great choice for anyone editing their own podcast.
