Alexa Plus Podcasts: Your New AI-Generated Companion

Alexa Plus Now Capable of Generating Podcasts on Various Topics

Amazon recently announced that Alexa Plus, the upgraded AI assistant from the tech giant, now has the ability to create podcasts on a wide range of topics. This new feature allows users to provide Alexa Plus with a topic, and the AI assistant will then offer an overview of what its AI hosts will discuss, giving users the option to guide the conversation and adjust the episode’s length before it starts generating.

Examples of “Alexa Podcasts” by Amazon

Amazon showcased some examples of AI-generated podcasts, including discussions on the history of the Roman Empire, new music releases, and predictions for the upcoming World Cup. Users can also request Alexa Plus to create audio lessons about the Apollo missions or produce podcast episodes on new hobbies like photography. This feature is reminiscent of AI-generated podcasts available through NotebookLM, a capability recently integrated into Microsoft Edge.

According to Amazon, the AI-generated podcast episodes will source information from the company’s network of 200 partnered news publications, including reputable sources like Reuters, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, Vox, and Politico. Alexa Plus was rolled out to all users in the US in February and has since been integrated into Amazon’s online marketplace.

Notification and Playback

Once an episode is generated, users will receive a notification on their Echo Show device and the Alexa app. They can tap on the notification to play the episode or access it through the Music and More section on the Echo Show or via the Alexa app.