Every Name Matters: How Tassel Uses AI to Honor Graduates with Care
For generations, a student’s name being called at graduation has symbolized years of hard work, personal growth, and family pride. It’s a powerful moment. But for more than half of students in the U.S., that moment is tarnished by a common mistake: their name is mispronounced.
At Tassel, we believe every graduate deserves to hear their name said correctly, confidently, and with care. So we set out to solve a problem that has plagued commencements for too long — with a little help from AI, and a lot of help from our trusted human voice professionals.
Respect for Names, Backed by Technology
For over a decade, Tassel relied on professional voice actors to record graduate name announcements — a process that was time‑consuming, logistically intense, and often cost‑prohibitive for smaller schools. Thousands of names, many re‑recorded for accuracy, all within a narrow window of just a few weeks.
Then came a breakthrough: using AI not to replace our voice artists, but to support them. We partnered with our longtime voice talent — real people with real experience — to help us build a system that could scale with quality and empathy at the center.
Voice Professionals Stay Involved — And Get Paid
This isn’t Siri or Alexa. The AI‑generated voices used by Tassel are crafted with the help of our professional voice actors, who are not only compensated for their contributions, but remain part of the process.
AI now handles the majority of names with broadcast‑level quality that is virtually indistinguishable from live recordings. When a name needs special attention, the same voice artist steps in — ensuring a consistent voice and a seamless ceremony experience.
And because students can hear and approve their name ahead of time, they have agency in the process. If something’s off, we fix it — with a human touch. No surprises on stage.
Scaling Access, Without Losing Respect
This hybrid approach has changed everything. Recording costs have dropped by over 80%, making high‑quality name announcements accessible to schools of all sizes — not just elite institutions. We’ve extended registration windows, improved turnaround times, and helped more schools serve students with diverse names and backgrounds.
Last year alone, more than 150,000 names were delivered using our AI‑supported system — and satisfaction scores reached an all‑time high.
Because when you get the name right, everything else falls into place.
What We Believe
We know graduation is more than a ceremony — it’s a celebration of identity, achievement, and belonging. That’s why Tassel is committed to using every tool available to do right by students, while staying transparent about where and how AI is used.
We’ll never sacrifice quality for convenience, and we’ll never forget that at the heart of every line of code, every voice sample, and every announcement, is a person with a name worth getting right.