Spotify, the music streaming giant, is reportedly working on new AI technology to make podcasts advertisements that sound like they have been read by a host, without the host actually recording the ads. The concept was mentioned by Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer – the podcast and sports media brand acquired by Spotify in 2020. According to Simmons, the AI-read ads would have the potential to be geo-targeted in different languages, with the host’s permission, and could open up numerous opportunities for podcasters.
Spotify is no stranger to leveraging AI for its business. In February, the company released AI DJ, an AI-based music creation assistant voice modeled off Spotify’s own staff members. Spotify has also created a dedicated team to work on areas like machine learning, content personalization, generative voice, Large Language Models, and more. With its ongoing investments in AI, it would appear that AI host-read ads are the next logical step for the streaming service.
At the moment, however, Spotify has not announced any firm plans to release AI-based host-read podcast advertisements. The company has released a statement saying that “there is currently nothing concrete to announce about AI host-read ads at the moment”.
Bill Simmons is the founder of The Ringer and a noted podcaster and sports commentator. He has been a major figure in the podcasting world for years with his own podcast series as well as creating The Ringer, which was acquired by Spotify in 2020. As someone who understands the potential of podcasting, Simmons was able to highlight the potential of AI-read ads and how it could open up untold opportunities for podcasters all over the world.
