Meta Integrates Authorized Celebrity Voices into AI Chatbot as ElevenLabs Launches Licensing Marketplace

Meta Platforms Inc. has significantly upgraded its Meta AI chatbot, introducing synthesized voices of prominent figures to enhance user interaction across its applications, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. This strategic move, announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, aims to transition user interface toward more natural voice-based conversation, building upon the company's prior work with personality-driven artificial intelligence assistants. The initial lineup of authorized voices for the Meta AI includes Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Awkwafina, Kristen Bell, and Keegan-Michael Key.

Concurrently, the specialized artificial intelligence audio firm ElevenLabs has established a formal commercial framework for this technology by debuting its Iconic Voices Marketplace. This platform is designed to facilitate the legal licensing of authorized celebrity AI voices for brand utilization in various products and services. ElevenLabs, a New York-based company founded in 2022, asserts that this consent-based, performer-first model addresses ethical concerns surrounding voice cloning by ensuring rights holders receive compensation.

The ElevenLabs marketplace offers a curated catalog of high-fidelity, legally sound vocal branding options for businesses. Luminaries whose voices are available through this commercial channel include Sir Michael Caine, Liza Minnelli, and Dr. Maya Angelou. Furthermore, the platform extends beyond living actors to include historical figures, with estates partnering to recreate voices such as Mark Twain and Alan Turing from archival recordings. Actor Matthew McConaughey has not only partnered with ElevenLabs but has also become an investor, using the technology to generate a Spanish-language audio version of his newsletter, 'Lyrics of Livin'.

This dual development signals a maturing of the AI voice industry toward regulated, ethical deployment in media and advertising, contrasting with earlier industry issues, such as OpenAI pausing a similar feature following an unauthorized voice imitation allegation by Scarlett Johansson. The integration of these recognizable, star-powered voices into both consumer-facing chatbots and brand marketing applications highlights a defining commercial trend in the current evolution of artificial intelligence. As of Wednesday, November 12, Meta Platforms Inc. (META) was trading at 610.41 USD, reflecting an intraday change of -16.67 USD from an open price of 628.0 USD on a volume of 18,731,329 shares.