I just opened ChatGPT, asked it to find me podcasts similar to Urdunama, and it created an entire personalized playlist for me. Interestingly, I didn’t have to open the Spotify app. I didn’t go through the algorithmic recommendations pool, either. And yet, the podcasts recommended by ChatGPT were eerily to my liking.
It’s an experience that will likely keep you from going back to the traditional methods of podcast discovery, and it seems it’s a hit with average podcast listeners, as well. Spotify tells me that a staggering 80% share of recommendations is being routed through the conversational AI experience.
The conversational shift
Spotify has heavily pushed into audiobooks and podcasts over the past few years, while diversifying into the video ecosystem, as well. The endeavor has proven pretty rewarding. The number of plays has become a success metric for podcasters, listening times are up, and there are new revenue streams available for creators in the space.
As the streaming giant pushes forward, it is seeing a new trend emerge in the space — discovery boosted by AI tools such as ChatGPT. It seems Spotify users are increasingly discovering new podcasts through the integration with ChatGPT as a connector. Or in simpler terms, instead of a manual search or algorithmic recommendation, conversations with ChatGPT are helping users discover more podcasts they might like.
Spotify shared exclusively with Digital Trends that “more than 80% of recommended episodes come from shows that are new to that listener, turning conversational search into meaningful discovery.” This is a pretty remarkable shift, considering the fact that the streaming community has often debated “which service has the best recommendation algorithm?”
A different, but rewarding approach
The algorithmic preferences are so intense that they dictate the loyalties of the streaming audience. Over the past couple of years, Spotify has offered a deeper set of controls to let users fine-tune their music discovery process, but algorithmic recommendations are still a core part of the experience.
The algorithm has been meticulously fine-tuned over the years. But at the end of the day, it’s still somewhat of a blind spot, relying more on listening stats and behaviour than what a user actually wants in the moment. AI changes that. The arrival of ChatGPT has added a whole new conversational twist to the discovery experience.
The uptake — and the subsequent success — has been pretty remarkable at recommending podcasts, according to Spotify. The foundations were laid back in October last year, when the company announced that users could link their Spotify and ChatGPT accounts to receive personalized music and podcast recommendations.
Instead of manual search, trial-and-error sessions, and lengthy forum scans, ChatGPT would do the job for you. All you have to do is summon the service with a “@spotify” function call in the chat, describe your mood (theme, or taste) and the AI chatbot will curate a personalized podcast list for you.
The perk is available to free users, too, but for Premium users, ChatGPT will create an entire playlist populated with recommended podcasts. The shift is not surprising, but there are two factors behind the scenes here. The first one is sheer convenience. “93% of podcast listeners on Spotify say they expect Spotify to help them find their next favorite show,” Spotify tells Digital Trends. This is where a conversation AI bot comes into the picture.
Fixing a few papercuts
You see, algorithm recommendations work within the confines of a platform, a strategy that works well for songs. Podcasts are an entirely different beast. They are fundamentally conversational, and so is the chatter around them on the internet. AI chatbots are pretty good at picking up the broad context or theme — though they are not 100% accurate.
Podcast discovery is more about the context and the content. Spotify already has a system that transcribes and adds chapters to podcast episodes, à la YouTube. But you can’t just export it all, have an AI find the connecting patterns, and make recommendations. The public chatter is equally important, especially on social forums and expert recommendations.
This is where AI bots like ChatGPT can pick up more context to offer better podcast recommendations. This contextual awareness, backed by real human conversations, is another crucial benefit of pushing AI bots into the discovery pipeline. ChatGPT won’t be the only AI engine driving the podcast discovery and recommendation experience on Spotify.
Google’s Gemini can also connect with Spotify and pull off similar tricks. But the outcome is identical. AI bots have opened the doors for an entirely new way to discover podcasts on Spotify, one where the power is in the hands of users, and the chore is conveniently conversational instead of being repetitively unpredictable.