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Even with some of the backlash surrounding the AI Michael Caine-led audiobook of Homer’s “Odyssey” poem, it appears many listeners prefer an artificially generated voice to a human one.
A new Edison Research at SSRS
study commissioned by Spoken, an AI audiobook company, revealed that the company’s multi-voice productions achieved a higher favorability rating than human-narrated productions.
The study, conducted in May 2026, is based on a survey of 1,005 fiction audiobook listeners split into two groups, each of which were made to listen to excerpts of either an AI-generated audiobook or a human-narrated one. During playback, the respondents didn’t know that AI voices were used, and they were not told which method was used for the production before they heard them.
Once they did know AI was involved, 61% rated Spoken’s Multi-Cast production — which generates a range of voices for a full audio production of a book, similar to, say, Audible’s full-cast production of the “Harry Potter” series — favorably, compared with 53% who said that about the human-narrated title. The study also showed the respondents ranked the AI version higher on perceived quality of narration (66% to 60%) and overall engagement (58% to 49%).
“We’re confident in what we’re hearing and what we’re delivering, but you don’t know what you’re going to get,” said Spoken CEO Phil Marshall, who commissioned the study. “None of the surprises that came from it, or I guess validations, if you will, would have been possible had had we not had such a careful design [in the study].”
That design obscured the element of AI until the respondents were told after listening to the Multi-Cast recording, which Marshall called “the key to everything.” Edison Research vice president Megan Lazovick, who said the study was the firm’s first time measuring the sentiment of an audio-based AI product, said the goal was to eradicate “any preconceived notion about AI“ in order to get the respondents’ most honest opinions.
“There’s opinions good and bad for AI among the American consumer, right, so we wanted to just purely get the reaction,” she said. “That was what was really fascinating, was the response that people were open to AI and thought it enhanced their experience.”
Still, Marshall recognizes that AI isn’t for everyone. He said some of the criticism surrounding cheaply made AI audiobooks was “well founded,” as creators were prioritizing accessibility over creating quality adaptations of written texts. ElevenLabs’ Michael Caine project was an attempt at creating something more engaging, Marshall said, but “yet there’s a lot that you have to do.”
Still, Marshall said the study “changes everything” when it comes to the company’s approach to making Multi-Cast productions, with more of an emphasis on creating vivid experiences for their listeners. Still, it’s authors’ written work that will be needed to drive any further development into the product.
“In the end, storytellers are going to bring stories,” he said. “They’re the creative force behind all of this, and we wanted just simply to bring that story to readers or listeners in as compelling a way as possible. And now we know that it’s not just cheaper, easier, quicker. It’s better, and that changes everything.”
