Edison Report Shows Listeners Want Humans, Not AI, Hosting Podcasts.

Artificial intelligence may be racing through podcast production pipelines, but listeners are drawing a clear line when it comes to who — or what — should be behind the microphone.

Edison Research says its data shows podcast consumers are increasingly encountering AI-generated content but remain skeptical of fully automated hosts.

About one-quarter of “first-year” podcast listeners — those who began listening within the past year — say they’ve tried a podcast narrated by an AI voice. Among long-time listeners, the figure is roughly one in five. Trying it, however, is not the same as embracing it.

In qualitative interviews conducted as part of Edison’s “Evolving Ear” study, listeners consistently said they’re comfortable with AI being used behind the scenes for brainstorming, research, editing, or administrative tasks. But they overwhelmingly resist AI replacing human creators on-air.

“I don’t want it doing the creative stuff,” one listener told Edison researchers. Most said AI-generated voices lack emotional nuance, authenticity, and conversational chemistry. Others said they could immediately hear the difference in tone and inflection, describing AI-narrated shows as less engaging.

Edison Senior Research Director Gabriel Soto says the distinction matters as companies rush to invest in AI tools.

“Almost everyone had a similar sentiment,” Soto said Tuesday. “They’re willing to accept AI in the development, the brainstorming of a podcast, but not in the execution or the entity hosting the podcast itself.”

The findings come as AI voices, synthetic narration, and automated podcast generation become more widely available and cheaper. Edison data suggests the medium’s creator-led roots still carry weight.

Rather than accelerating a shift toward fully automated content, Soto said during a webinar that the research points to a future where AI plays a supporting role — enhancing workflow and speeding production — while humans remain central to storytelling and performance.

“Your audience want you to be human,” Soto said.

New Listeners Are More Diverse

AI could be a way to diversify content at a lower cost and broaden its appeal. Yet Edison says podcast diversity is already accelerating. New “first-year” listeners differ sharply from long-time audiences across gender, race, and politics. They are more likely to be women, younger, and more racially diverse — 39% of first-year listeners are non-white vs. 25% of podcast veterans. And more identify as Republican, which Soto links to the rise of conservative-leaning podcasts. 

“The data suggests consumers will look more like the face of the country in podcasting’s next chapter,” Soto said. “And as an industry, we need to be prepared.”

Listening Time Has Quadrupled 

Podcasting’s shift toward video is helping drive that diversification, and Edison says it isn’t coming at the expense of overall listening time. Americans now spend a combined 773 million hours per week listening to podcasts. A decade ago, that figure stood at about 170 million weekly hours, representing a 355% increase over ten years.

One of the biggest behavioral shifts is where and how podcasts are consumed. Smart TVs have emerged as a meaningful podcast platform, with usage rising from 1% of weekly podcast consumers in 2021 to 9% today, surpassing smart speakers. Soto said podcasters are increasingly “disrupting what’s on TV in American households throughout the day,” as video podcasts gain traction.

That shift is especially pronounced among new listeners. Edison finds that first-year podcast consumers are more likely to engage with video podcasts than audio-only shows, and that video consumption among newcomers now exceeds audio-only usage. The data shows 77% of first-year listeners actively watch video podcasts, surpassing the 75% who listen to audio-only podcasts.

At the same time, Edison says video discovery often leads audiences back to audio, rather than replacing it. It finds 72% of first-years and 68% of long-timers say they have started listening to the audio-only version of a podcast after discovering its video version.

“Yes, video has transformed the definition of the word podcast, and its disruption doesn’t seem to be slowing down,” Soto said. “But video doesn’t necessarily eat up audio.”