Mass-produced AI podcasts disrupt a fragile industry

Finding an Audience

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Artificial intelligence now makes it possible to mass-produce podcasts with completely virtual hosts, a development that is disrupting an industry still finding its footing and operating on a fragile business model.

Since Google launched Audio Overview, the first mass-market podcast generator that creates shows from documents and other inputs, just over a year ago, a wave of startups has rushed in, from ElevenLabs to Wondercraft.

No studio, no humans at the microphone, not even a recording — yet out comes a lively podcast, banter and all. Whether based on a legal document or a school handout, AI tools can deliver a state-of-the-art podcast at the click of a mouse.

A pioneer in this movement is Inception Point AI, which was launched in 2023 and releases about 3,000 podcasts per week with a team of just eight people.

The immediate goal is to play the volume game, said Jeanine Wright, Inception's founder and the former number two at leading audio studio Wondery.