Amazon Launches AI-Generated Alexa Podcasts in the US

Amazon’s Alexa+ assistant can now create personalized podcast episodes with AI-generated hosts discussing the topics of your choice. The new Alexa podcasts can be generated in minutes by leveraging content from over 200 news publications covering a wide range of sources, and they can be listened to on Echo devices and on mobile via the Alexa app.

“Creating custom audio content is now effortless. No documents to upload, no prep work needed, just tell Alexa what topic you’re curious about, and it does the rest in minutes,” Amazon explained today. “Alexa will pull together the relevant information, give you an overview of what it plans to cover, and let you adjust the length and direction conversationally before generating anything.”

To give Alexa podcasts access to fresh, high-quality content, Amazon has partnered with the Associated Press, Reuters, the Washington Post (now owned by ex-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos), Time, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, USA Today, plus various publications from Condé Nast, Hearst, and Vox, and more than 200 local US newspapers. Audio episodes feature AI-generated host voices that can discuss virtually any topic.

Alexa+ users will still be in control of the format and content of the podcast episodes before they’re actually generated in the Alexa mobile app. Overall, this is very similar to the AI-generated podcasts Google pioneered with its NotebookLM app, which started as an AI-powered note-taking and research tool. Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot can also create personalized podcasts in English, but Amazon clearly benefits from the millions of Echo speakers and smart displays it has already sold to customers.

The Alexa developer said today that’s it’s already working on new forms of AI-generated audio content, including personalized news briefings and custom reports based on personal documents. Alexa Podcasts are generally available to US customers with access to Alexa+, which is available for free with Amazon Prime or priced at $19.99/month.