If you think only humans have the ability to engage you in a conversation in your own language, AI softwares are here to prove you wrong. These days people literally talk to AI-powered assistants like Alexa, Siri or Google assistant.

People can now ask questions like “Alexa, what’s the traffic like from here to the airport” and expect quite comprehensive answers and they do get it, more often than not.

The AI world is so advanced, that now there are even AI softwares that can identify and isolate human voice in the midst of a confusing variety of noise; imagine what possibilities that present. There are others that help you get better at public speaking, they listen to you, rate your presentation and give you feedback.

And here’s the sad part:

You’ve probably been missing out on a lot of these tools even though most of them are free. Here are 7 useful ones you should know about.

Krisp

Imagine having to make an important call but you’re in a noisy environment. You and your caller  can’t hear each other clearly. In situations like this, it’s very easy to get frustrated.

Here’s where Krisp comes in, their AI technology is trained to recognize and reduce background noise from real time audio by leaving only human speech in it.

[demo]

And unlike other noise cancellation apps you don’t need to be covered in a maze of wires. This app can be that one big upgrade to your best noise cancelling earbuds

As Davit Baghdasaryan, Krisp’s co-founder puts it, “All current noise cancellation solutions require multiple microphones and a special form factor where the mouth must be close to one of the mics.

Krisp has no such requirement,” Baghdasaryan explained. “We can do it with single-mic or operate on an audio stream coming from the network. This makes it possible to run the software in any environment you want (edge or network) and any direction (inbound or outbound).”

HumTap

Humtap is a FREE AI Music Creation app available for iPhone.

humtap

Source: humtap.com

Humtap uses your natural voice, along with their AI technology to collaborate with you to create studio-quality music right from your mobile phone. All you have to do is “hum and tap” as the name suggests.

As Tamer, Humtap’s CEO put it “the app listens to your voice and turns your hums into songs in the style of your favourite artist, in seconds and on the fly on your mobile phone.”

The app has the capacity to record your hums and rhymes, work on it with it’s AI tech and then spit out a finished product that sounds and feels as though it came form a studio.

Speechkit

Speechkit uses artificial intelligence to turn written text into audio that people can listen to, other apps provide audios that clearly reads like robot speech. But Speechkit prides itself on producing audio that sounds more like a human and less like a robot; audio with natural speech and pleasant inflection.

speechkit

Source: speechkit.io

They also help publishers turn their news articles into podcasts, and monetise them with audio ads. SpeechKit works in over 20 languages and dialects.

The audio is produced instantaneously and it’s easy to access.

Smartrecord

This is an iOS app that allows users to record an unlimited length and number of audios. Their easy-to-navigate UX allows you to preview, edit or delete an audio with a single tap. You can also record and playback in the background. It also offers interruption protection, in that you can continue recording after answering a phone call.

smartrecord

Source: smartrecordapp.com

These audios are later transcribed into text, with either the help of a powerful AI software or experienced humans .

The app can be used by a wide variety of people ranging from journalists, security professionals, students, business people and so on.

Cisco webEX Personal Assistant

Remember how Siri, Alexa, and Cortana help you check the weather, turn on the lights in your room, set an alarm, or summon your car from the garage?

cisco webex

Source: webex.com

Cisco Webex does something similar but at work, rather than at home. It allows meetings to be run exclusively through voice. Imagine sitting in front of a screen and saying “Call James” and the app calls James sets up a meeting and starts recording.

At its core is an AI software armed with interactive audio visuals featuring video walls, digital signage, whiteboards, projection displays, presentation systems, and other features that make for seamless remote meetings.

SoundHound

SoundHound is essentially a song identification app. If you’re humming a song or just the tune but can’t remember what song it is, what can you do? At least if you remember the correct lyrics you could enter that into Google. But what if you don’t?

soundhound

Source: soundhound.com

That’s where SoundHound comes in, it can tell you all about a song, just by listening to you humming it or to the music playing in the background.

SoundHound also has an AI-powered, voice-controlled virtual assistant called Hound. It’s just like the popular Siri or Alexa but with a few upgrades.

As David Pierce of Wired puts it: Hound is so sophisticated that you can say “Ok Hound. I need a hotel three Thursdays from now near Fisherman’s Wharf for less than $200 and it needs to have a pool and free WiFi,” and Hound will parse your data and find exactly what you’re looking for.

GweekSpeech

This company uses its AI-based speech and human gesture platforms to give feedback to speakers and help them become better communicators who are clear, confident and in control.

gweek speech

Source: gweekspeech.com

Public speakers, politicians, coaches, students and just about anyone interested in getting better at speaking can take advantage of this app to improve their communication skills.

After downloading the app, gweek works by allowing you to select a speaking topic and talk for a few minutes, thereafter you’ll receive a score and get personalized feedback that help you to improve.

Wrapping Up

The AI world is chock-full of audio applications that help make our lives a lot less stressful and little more interesting. 30 years ago no one could have convinced us that things would be the way they are now in terms of AI and audio. And so, 30 years from now, you never can tell how much advancement would be made.
By the way, you can also take a look at useful and interesting mac productivity apps.

Have you ever interacted with any of the apps listed above? If yes how did you find the interaction? Interesting? Are there any other amazing Audio AI softwares you feel we’ve left out? Please let us know in the comments.