How to Label an AI-Narrated Audiobook

Only a few stores state the exact wording they want for AI narration. Kobo's audiobook FAQ, as captured on 2026-11-08, asks for a narrator contributor of "Synthesized Voice". Spotify and Voices by INaudio add their own notice to the description when you flag the title. Apple requires a fixed opening line for its own digital narration program, and its formatting guidelines separately ask that AI narration be stated in the title or narrator field and referenced in the description. For the rest, the pages we read state no wording.

The table below gives the wording each page names, where it goes, and a verification status for each row. "Verified" means the wording is quoted from the store's own page as read on 2026-11-08. "Captured" means a reading exists but we could not re-read the page. "Not stated" means the pages we read are silent, which is neither permission nor a ban. Where nothing is stated we say so, and you should not invent wording and assume it will be accepted.

Store-by-store wording

We could not read publisher help pages from Storytel, Nextory or Authors Republic: each returned HTTP 403 on 8 November 2026, so no wording from them appears here.

How to label an audiobook in five steps

Labelling comes down to finding the store's own control first and adding free text only where the store leaves room. These steps apply the table above:

1. Classify the voice. Decide whether it is a generic synthetic voice, a replica of one person made with permission, or a mix. The APA and APG guidance below gives terms for each. INaudio classes every cloned voice as Digital Voice Narration, including a clone of your own, and that classification is INaudio's.
2. Find your row in the table. Use the store's exact wording where one is given, including its spelling.
3. Use the store's control before free text. A tick-box or workflow beats anything you type. At Spotify, tick the option. At INaudio, use the DVN workflow and leave the credit alone, since it cannot be edited.
4. Handle the description separately. Apple's guidelines ask for it. INaudio and Spotify add their own line, and INaudio's description rules discourage repeating information already in the metadata, so we would not add a second notice there without asking support.
5. Check the live listing and keep a record. Save the listing wording, the date, and the page you relied on. Recheck when you replace the audio. Spotify, for example, removes its sentence when you unselect the option for a human replacement.

What Apple's formatting guidelines add

Apple's Audiobooks Formatting Guidelines 1.3.2 list AI narration among common reasons for correction or rejection. They say audiobooks narrated by artificial intelligence must state this in either the title or narrator field, and that it must also be referenced in the product description. They do not say whose AI, and they do not say Apple accepts audio from outside its own program, so treat them as formatting instructions only.

Two other lines in the same guidelines affect how you act on that:

• Apple's opening sentence is for Apple's program. It names Apple Books and is specified for Apple's own program; section 1.1 limits use of Apple trademarks in other audiobooks' metadata, so we would not copy it.
• Check the format of a narrator name. Section 3.4 says artist names should include no information beyond the name, and section 3.8 rejects generic names such as "Narrator 1". Together with section 3.9 that leaves the exact format unclear, so ask your distributor how it delivers an AI narrator to Apple.

Separately, section 1.16 covers AI-generated book content, as opposed to narration. A title whose content is AI-generated must use the "AI Generated by" artist role and say so in the description, while AI-assisted content needs no disclosure. Apple's specification lists that role without explanation.

What KDP's AI disclosure covers

KDP separately requires you to disclose AI-generated text, images and translations when you publish or republish a book. The KDP guidelines do not mention audio, and content you wrote yourself and only used AI to edit or refine need not be disclosed, but AI-generated content must be disclosed even after substantial edits. Whether this rule reaches audiobooks is not stated. See KDP AI content disclosure.

APA and APG naming guidance (non-binding)

The Audio Publishers Association and Audio Publishers Group published naming guidelines for AI-narrated audiobooks, dated October 2024 on the page. They describe them as best-practice recommendations: "They are not requirements." Stores are not bound to follow them.

• Terms. "AI Voice" for a generic synthetic voice; "Authorized Voice Replica" for a licensed replica of a single person.
• Where. Title metadata, using ONIX List 19 codes (05, 06 and 07 for AI Voice; 08 for Authorized Voice Replica).
• Display. The guidelines give the example of a retailer showing "Narrated by: Amir (AI Voice)".
• Partial AI. They suggest considering a label when more than 10% of a voice is AI.

The guidelines use "cloning" for replication without permission. So a voice you licensed, or your own voice replicated with your consent, is "Authorized Voice Replica" in their terms, and "clone" is not the APA and APG term for a licensed replica; they use "Authorized Voice Replica". For the permissions behind that label, see voice cloning for authors.

ONIX fields for publishers who use them

Most self-publishers will never see ONIX, but a publisher or distributor metadata feed might. The guidelines' examples pair contributor role E07 (read by) with an Unnamed Persons code from List 19: 05 for a male synthetic voice, 06 for female, 07 for neutral, and 08 for an Authorized Voice Replica. The replica's real name goes in an AlternativeName element (NameType 04). Check the guidelines for the AI Voice name type. If you do not use ONIX, the guidelines suggest supplying the same information by spreadsheet or in the retailer's own format.

Fallback wording when a store states none

Use these terms where a store gives you a free-text field and states no wording of its own, and never in place of wording a store requires. This wording is our suggestion from the APA and APG terms. No store has confirmed it, and a store may still ask you to change it.

• Narrator field, AI voice: [Voice name] (AI Voice)
• Narrator field, licensed replica: [Person's name] (Authorized Voice Replica)
• Description sentence: This audiobook is narrated by an AI voice.

The cross-store picture is in which retailers accept AI narration, and every policy page starts from the AI narration rules hub.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Last verified 2026-11-08. Rules and prices change: check the linked primary page before you rely on this.