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Guide5 min read·Updated April 10, 2026

ElevenLabs: Generate Any Voice with AI

ElevenLabs is the leading AI voice platform — realistic text-to-speech, voice cloning, multilingual generation, and conversational agents. Here's how to start.

ElevenLabs: Generate Any Voice with AI

ElevenLabs is the leading AI voice platform. Its text-to-speech models are the most realistic available — used in podcasts, YouTube videos, phone systems, audiobooks, and more. Current flagship: Eleven v3 (alpha, 2026) with audio tags, multi-speaker dialogue, and 70+ languages.

What ElevenLabs Does

Text to Speech — Paste your script, choose a voice, generate. Export as MP3 or WAV. The output quality is professional-grade.

Voice Cloning — Upload 30+ seconds of audio from any voice, and ElevenLabs creates a cloned model of that voice. Use it to generate unlimited new audio in that voice.

Multilingual — 70+ languages. Generate in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and more — using any voice including clones.

ElevenAgents — Conversational AI agents with voice interfaces. Build voice bots that can hold real conversations, search databases, and respond intelligently.

Scribe v2 Realtime — Speech-to-text with <150ms latency across 90+ languages. Use it in agents or as a standalone transcription tool.

Getting Started

  1. Sign up at elevenlabs.io — free tier available with limited monthly characters
  2. Go to Text to Speech in the dashboard
  3. Select a voice from the Voice Library (thousands of pre-made voices)
  4. Paste your script and click Generate

The free tier gives you enough characters to test the quality thoroughly before committing to a paid plan.

Voice Library

ElevenLabs has thousands of pre-made voices categorized by:

  • Gender and age
  • Accent and language
  • Use case (narration, conversational, characters)
  • Tone (authoritative, friendly, calm, energetic)

Filter by use case and audition voices before committing. The quality difference between voices is significant — spend 5 minutes finding the right voice before generating anything long.

Eleven v3: Audio Tags

The v3 model (currently in alpha) introduces audio tags — stage directions you write inline that control how the AI delivers speech:

The report is ready. [pause] This is the part you need to pay attention to.
[excited] We exceeded targets by 40%.
[soft, calm] Take a moment to review the full summary below.

Available tags include: [pause], [excited], [whisper], [laughs], [sighs], and more. This level of control gets you closer to a real voice actor than anything else in the market.

Dialogue Mode

New in v3: Text to Dialogue generates multi-speaker conversations from a structured array. Two characters can speak with natural overlapping transitions — useful for:

  • Podcast ad reads with two hosts
  • Customer service training simulations
  • Audiobooks with dialogue between characters

Voice Cloning

To clone a voice:

  1. Record or collect 30+ seconds of clear audio (the more the better — 5+ minutes gives higher quality)
  2. Go to Voices → Add Voice → Instant Voice Clone
  3. Upload the audio and name the voice
  4. Use it anywhere in the platform

The resulting clone can generate unlimited audio in that voice at any length. Useful for consistent brand voice, creator voiceovers, or customer service agents.

Important: Only clone voices you have rights to clone. ElevenLabs requires consent verification for commercial use.

ElevenAgents

Build conversational voice agents — AI phone bots and chat assistants. Key 2026 features:

  • MCP tool support — Connect agents to external databases and APIs
  • Built-in RAG search — Agents can search a knowledge base for answers
  • Content guardrails — Define what topics the agent can and cannot discuss
  • Conversation history — Track and review all agent interactions

ElevenAgents overlaps with Retell AI for phone use cases. ElevenLabs is stronger on voice quality; Retell is stronger on call routing and telephony features.

Pricing

| Plan | Monthly Characters | Key Features | |---|---|---| | Free | 10,000 | Text to Speech, Voice Library | | Starter | 30,000 | + Voice Cloning | | Creator | 100,000 | + Projects, professional export | | Pro | 500,000 | + Priority access, v3 alpha |

Learning Resources

  • Official Docs — elevenlabs.io/docs/overview/intro
  • Text to Speech Playground Guide — elevenlabs.io/docs/eleven-creative/playground/text-to-speech
  • ElevenLabs YouTube Channel — Official tutorials on voice cloning, v3, and ElevenAgents
  • r/ElevenLabs — Community for output comparisons and licensing discussion
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