YouTube rolls out automated dubbing and lip-syncing, per support.google.com

YouTube has rolled out an automated dubbing feature designed to translate video audio tracks into multiple languages, according to documentation published on support.google.com. The system generates translated audio automatically for newly uploaded content and appends the label Automatically dubbed to the video description. Viewers can select preferred languages for audio, titles, and descriptions, or switch between the original audio track and a dubbed version on individual videos.

How Eligible Videos Receive Automated Dubbing

The feature is enabled by default for eligible creators, though channels without the setting active can turn it on through early access in advanced settings on support.google.com. When creators upload new material, translated tracks are generated automatically and published according to the channel’s release preferences. Google also plans to generate dubs for previously published videos in the future.

Several conditions prevent a video from qualifying for automated dubbing. Videos exceeding 120 minutes in length are ineligible, as are clips that contain only music or very minimal speech. The system also excludes videos if the original audio language is not currently supported, if the source language cannot be automatically detected, or if the speech rate in the original audio is too fast to produce an understandable dubbed version. Videos subject to copyright claims are also excluded from the tool.

Creators Manage Automated Dubbing in YouTube Studio

Creators can manage automated dubbing preferences at any time through the YouTube Studio application by accessing settings under the content section. To prevent automatic publication and review translated tracks beforehand, creators can enable the manual publishing option. Managing specific dubbed versions—including checking, publishing, unpublishing, or deleting them—requires accessing YouTube Studio on a computer.

According to support.google.com, unpublishing a dubbed track removes it from viewer access while retaining the option to republish or delete it later. Deleting a version permanently removes it, preventing any future republication. Creators can also check transcripts of dubbed audio by selecting the specific language under the audio menu in YouTube Studio.

AI Translations Use Expressive Voice and Lip Syncing

Certain languages support expressive voice technology, which reproduces the tone and intonation of the original speaker to create more natural-sounding audio translations. However, support.google.com notes that expressive voice is not applied in every instance even within compatible languages. Because the tracks are generated by AI, translations may contain occasional errors related to pronunciation, accents, dialects, background noise, or the translation of proper nouns, idioms, and technical jargon.

An experimental lip-syncing feature is also available as an early access option for select channels on eligible videos and languages. When enabled alongside automatic dubbing in advanced channel settings, the tool modifies the speaker’s lip movements to match the translated audio track.