Amazon said Alexa Podcasts uses information from more than 200 publications, including the AP, Reuters, The Washington Post, TIME, and Forbes.
Alexa sends finished episodes to Echo Show and the Alexa app
Photo Credit: Amazon
Amazon has introduced a new Alexa+ feature called Alexa Podcasts that can generate podcast-style audio episodes on demand. The tool creates AI-generated episodes on nearly any topic in a few minutes using synthetic host voices. Users only need to provide a topic and can adjust the planned coverage before the audio is generated. The feature is designed to help users learn about news, travel, hobbies, and professional topics in an audio format that can be played through Echo devices and the Alexa app.
In a press release, Amazon said Alexa Podcasts is now available to Alexa+ customers in the US. The Alexa+ service is included at no additional cost for Amazon Prime members, while non-Prime users can subscribe to it for $19.99 (roughly Rs. 1,900) per month.
Amazon said users can ask Alexa+ to create a podcast episode on virtually any subject. The assistant first presents an outline of the topics it plans to cover. Users can then change the episode's length and focus before Alexa+ generates the final audio using AI-created host voices.
The company said Alexa Podcasts draws information from more than 200 news publications and other sources. These include the Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, TIME, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, and USA Today, as well as publications from Condé Nast, Hearst, and Vox Media. Amazon said the feature also uses content from more than 200 local newspapers across the US.
Alexa+ sends a notification to supported Echo Show devices and the Alexa app when it finishes generating an episode. Users can start listening immediately or find saved episodes later in the Music and More section of the Alexa app.
Amazon said users can create podcast-style audio episodes on a wide range of topics. The company highlighted use cases such as daily news roundups, sports recaps, music release summaries, travel guides, educational explainers, hobby tutorials, and career-focused lessons.
The feature expands Alexa+'s capabilities as AI companies increasingly introduce podcast-style summaries. Similar tools are already available through Google's NotebookLM and Gemini, which can turn documents and notes into conversational audio summaries.
Amazon said it is exploring additional forms of custom audio, including personalised news briefings and episodes based on documents and information that users choose to share. The company has not announced when Alexa Podcasts will be made available outside the US.
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