Spotify is Rolling Out Verified Badges on “Authentic” Podcasts

As generative AI technology has now made it easier than ever to create video and audio content, Spotify is expanding the new Verified badges it recently introduced on artist profiles to podcast pages. These badges will indicate that Spotify has confirmed the “authenticity” of a podcast, based on various signals, including audience engagement and the respect of the platform’s content policies.

“The badge appears as “Verified by Spotify” alongside a light green checkmark icon,” Spotify explained in the announcement. “It signals that the show has been reviewed against Spotify’s standards for authenticity and trust, helping listeners understand who they’re hearing while giving creators a clear, credible way to establish their identity on our platform.”

Spotify will give this new Verified badge to podcasts showing “sustained listener activity” and “verified audience authenticity.” The latter means that bots aren’t being used to artificially inflate listening statistics.

The streaming clearly prohibits the use of AI technology to impersonate people without their permission. However, this new Verified badge doesn’t guarantee that a podcast hasn’t been created using generative AI technology.

“New AI technologies are making it easier than ever to create, discover, and engage with podcast content. At its best, AI can open up new creative possibilities and help listeners discover podcasts in more personal ways,” the company explained. Last week, Spotify even announced that it was welcoming AI-generated podcasts created with agents such as OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, and OpenClaw.

“The concept of authenticity in podcasting is complex and quickly evolving, and we’ll continue to develop our approach over time,” Spotify said. In the meantime, you may start seeing this new Verified badge on select podcast pages and in search.