With Spotify’s AI DJ, the company trained an AI on a real person’s voice — that of its head of Cultural Partnerships and podcast host, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Now, the streamer may turn that same technology to advertising, it seems. According to statements made by The Ringer founder Bill Simmons, the streaming service is developing AI technology that will be able to use a podcast host’s voice to make host-read ads — without the host actually having to read and record the ad copy.
According to Techcrunch, Simmons made the statements on a recent episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” saying, “There is going to be a way to use my voice for the ads. You have to obviously give the approval for the voice, but it opens up, from an advertising standpoint, all these different great possibilities for you.”
He said these ads could open up new opportunities for podcasters because they could geo-target ads — like tickets for a local event in the listener’s city — or even create ads in different languages, with the host’s permission.
His comments were first reported by Semafor.
The Ringer was acquired by Spotify in 2020, but it wasn’t clear if Simmons was authorized to speak about the streamer’s plans in this area, as he began by saying, “I don’t think Spotify is going to get mad at me for this…” before sharing the information.
Reached for comment, Spotify wouldn’t directly confirm or deny the feature’s development.
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