Alexa Plus Now Generates AI Podcasts on Any Topic

Amazon’s upgraded AI assistant can create custom podcast episodes, drawing from over 200 news partners.

Amazon announced on Monday that Alexa Plus, its upgraded AI assistant, can now generate podcasts on virtually any topic. Users give Alexa Plus a topic, and the AI offers an overview of its planned discussion by AI hosts. The user can then steer the conversation and adjust the length before generation.

How It Works

Amazon shared examples of "Alexa Podcast" episodes, including AI-generated hosts discussing:

• The history of the Roman Empire
• New music releases
• Expectations for the World Cup

Users can also request audio lessons about the Apollo missions or a podcast about a new hobby, such as photography.

Key Details

The feature is similar to AI-generated podcasts available via NotebookLM and a recent update to Microsoft Edge.

• Alexa Plus was rolled out to all US users in February and has since been embedded into Amazon's online marketplace.
• Upon completion, users receive a notification on their Echo Show device and the Alexa app.
• The episode can be played via the notification, the Music and More section on Echo Show, or the Alexa app.

Information Sources

Amazon stated that the AI-generated podcast episodes will draw information from 200 news publications it has partnered with, including:

• Reuters
• The Associated Press
• The Washington Post
• Vox
• Politico