Al Michaels meets A.I. Michaels

NBC is gearing up to broadcast the 2024 Summer Olympics, which kick off on July 26 in Paris, France. But when you watch, listen closely — NBC’s most recognizable voice might sound a little different.

Legendary broadcaster Al Michaels gave his permission for NBC to digitally replicate his voice and use it on an Olympics-related video feature on its streaming service Peacock during the upcoming games. Michaels’s voice will be used on the Peacock program, “Your Daily Olympic Recap,” which summarizes highlights of each day’s events — but Michaels won’t be reading it. NBC will use generative AI to analyze what happened at the games and write a script for the faux-Michaels.

While AI may never replace our most cherished play-by-play announcers and color commentary teams, NBC is leaning into two things that AI does quite well: make summaries and, as we explored in a recent newsletter, replicate voices. We’ll see if the strategy can bring more eyeballs to often-overlooked digital venues by adding some ersatz star power.