Regional content creators find new opportunities with Instagram and YouTube AI dubbing tools

Social media platforms Instagram and YouTube have introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) based dubbing and translation tools, primarily aimed at helping regional content creators expand beyond their local markets. According to a report by 'Mint', this new technology allows creators to present their content in various languages, providing them an opportunity to reach a vast audience. However, the expansion of this facility has raised some important questions, primarily whether these additional views will translate into meaningful engagement and higher earnings, and whether the cultural nuances and natural flow of the original content will be maintained in dubbed videos.

Instagram expanded the scope of its Reels translation feature on January 16. This facility is now available in Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Marathi, having previously been limited to English, Hindi, Spanish, and Portuguese. On the other hand, YouTube opened its auto-dubbing feature to all creators on February 4, including 27 languages. According to Meta, it was revealed during the first quarter results in April that more than 50 crore users watch AI-translated videos on Instagram and Facebook every week. However, this expanded distribution does not necessarily mean a direct increase in creators' income.

According to Shubh Datta, co-founder of influencer marketing firm 'Ringlight Media', AI dubbing can open new opportunities for distribution and bring regional content to more people. But its commercial success depends on how effectively this additional reach converts into engagement and conversion. Ipsita Moitra, a Bengali beauty and lifestyle creator, stated that AI dubbing has helped her reach audiences outside West Bengal. Her regular Reels receive 50,000 to 1 lakh views, and in initial experiments, she has seen a 20-30% increase in views.

According to Kannada finance creator Rajiv K.S., his primary audience still comes from Karnataka, but AI-dubbed videos have brought him 20-30% more views. These tools have also reduced production time and cost. Traditionally, manual translation and voiceover took 2-3 hours, which now happens in 20-30 minutes, resulting in a 60-80% time saving. Bengali creator Pallabi Paul Kundu also admitted that AI dubbing has reduced production costs and the results look more realistic due to lip-syncing. According to her, people cannot tell whether the video is in the original language or dubbed.

However, Rajiv K.S. warned that more views do not mean more earnings, especially on Instagram, where creators' income primarily depends on brand collaborations. Brands are now focusing on metrics such as accurate engagement and sales rather than just view counts. Instagram and YouTube have not responded to queries regarding this.