Those "AI" jobs aren't really jobs...

Today, I really want to be serious about this topic because I think it’s important for everyone in voice over.

Don't fall for the lies on the casting sites. Those "jobs" that you are seeing on the casting sites aren't really jobs. Don't fall for it.

Those "AI" jobs aren't really jobs - 8:06

Hey guys, it’s Gabby. In today’s video about voice over, I want to talk to you about something really serious.

You know, a lot of times I make jokes and do some goofy stuff in my videos just to have fun with it. But today, I really want to be serious about this topic because I think it’s important for everyone in voice over. And if you’re brand new to voice acting—if you’re aspiring to be a voice actor—this is 100% for you in 2025, because it might be the single most important message you hear about voice over this year.

What I want to talk about is paid jobs that mask themselves as voice over jobs but really aren’t. Specifically, I’m talking about AI training.

Paid Voice Over Jobs That Aren’t Really Voice Over

AI training is everywhere right now. The demand is insane. I’ve done AI videos before, but I’m seeing so much of this generative AI—this is what all companies are competing in right now and trying to train.

Generative AI needs to be fed. It needs a constant supply of new information, new ideas, and new content in order to function. But the reality is, it’s not really “learning.”

Justine Bateman—Jason Bateman’s sister, who is also an actress—explains this better than almost anyone. In a video you can find on YouTube, she describes AI like a blender. When you make a smoothie, you put ingredients into a blender and blend them up. Did the ingredients really change? Not exactly. They’re still the same ingredients—just in a different form.

That’s how a lot of AI works right now. Whatever we feed it—whatever we put into the blender—is, in some way, shape, or form, what it spits back out.

This is incredibly important because all of these “job opportunities” you’re seeing—on LinkedIn, social media, Indeed, voiceover platforms, Fiverr, Voice123, Voices.com, Upwork, Backstage, Casting Call Club—the list goes on and on—are not what they appear to be.

What these jobs really are is a company paying you to become an ingredient in the blender.

Your voice and the material you record are combined with countless other voices so that AI can either:

Create a completely new synthetic voice from the blended “soup,” or

Learn how to pronounce words, place inflection correctly, and mimic human speech patterns.

These are not voice over jobs.

I cannot stress this enough. You are not being paid to do a voice over. These are not voice over credits. In fact, participating in these jobs is actually detrimental to all of us in the voice over industry and to the entire voice over community.

This practice has the potential to contribute to the collapse of our industry.

If you’re brand new and just getting into voice over, here’s what’s happening: these companies are targeting you. They’re targeting your desire to work, your excitement, and your dream of being part of this industry. You see a big company name, you see a paid opportunity, and you jump on it—because of course you do.

They’re preying on your hopes and dreams.

You have to make the conscious decision to educate yourself and choose not to participate in these kinds of jobs. They may not destroy our industry today or tomorrow, but they absolutely could in the near future.

Another deeply disturbing aspect of these AI training jobs is that they’re often attached to huge tech companies. We’re seeing them come from Microsoft, Google, Meta, Facebook—major tech giants.

You might think, “Wow, this is a big credit. I’m getting hired by a real client.”

But you’re not.

It will be extremely difficult—if not impossible—for you to list one of these companies as a legitimate voice over credit. In reality, it’s not a voice over at all. It’s an AI training module.

Your voice will never be broadcast.

It will never be heard by the public.

It will never be used in anything resembling a real voice over application.

Also, be aware of the red flags. Many of these AI training jobs say things no real voice over job would ever say:

“You don’t need a studio.”

“You can record on your phone.”

“No experience required.”

Those are dead giveaways.

No Fortune 500 company or major brand is hiring voice actors with no experience and no professional studio. That simply does not happen.

If you are new to this business and exploring your voice over career options, educate yourself about what’s happening with AI. Learn what AI training is, recognize it when you see it, and decline those jobs—because they are not voice over jobs.

This industry is not going anywhere anytime soon. We are still being booked, still being hired, and actors will always have a place in the arts and in media, including voice over.

But right now, we are also fighting to protect our likeness and our intellectual property.

Please join us in that effort. Help protect our livelihood and our future.

Thanks so much for watching. Bye.

704-674-8294 / GabrielleNistico.com / gabby@voiceovervixen.com

Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover, Charlotte, North Carolina, ai voiceover, synthetic voiceover, casting sites, be careful, voiceover beginners, danger, education, generative AI, artificial intelligence