Spotify Launches AI Feature That Could Transform Audiobooks

Spotify’s new feature makes it easier to pick up an audiobook where you left off, without needing to rewind or listen to previous chapters.

Spotify introduced the AI-powered feature, called “Recaps,” on Thursday, describing it in a press release as a “powerful” tool that gives listeners short audio summaries of the portion of the book they’ve already heard. When returning to an audiobook after some time away, users can tap the Recap button at the top of the audiobook page to hear an AI-generated summary of what has happened so far in the book. The feature is similar to a “previously on” segment at the beginning of a TV show episode.

The first Recap becomes available after a reader listens to the first 15 to 20 minutes of an audiobook, and subsequent Recaps are updated as a reader makes progress through the story. Recaps are designed to cover only the portion of the book the user has already listened to, so there are no spoilers for upcoming chapters.

The feature helps people finish the books they start and is especially useful for listeners who pause audiobooks for days or weeks and want to quickly refresh their memories before diving back in.

Related: Spotify’s Founder and Longtime CEO Is Stepping Down: ‘To Be Clear, I’m Not Leaving’

Recaps are “an audio bookmark that speaks,” J.H. Markert, author of Spider to the Fly, said in a press release. “Using it once blew my mind. As sophisticated as it is smart, this feature is a must for any audiobook lovers out there.”

It’s unclear how long Recaps are or what voice they will use. Spotify said that the original work of authors and narrators “stays protected” with Recaps, and that the company is not using audiobook content to train AI models or generate AI voices.

Most audiobooks on Spotify are not free, though some are included with select Premium plans. Premium Individual ($12 per month), Family ($20 per month) and Duo ($17 per month) plan subscribers get 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month.

The Recaps feature is currently in beta and available on iOS for a limited number of English-language audiobooks, with expansion plans underway.

Related: Spotify Has Paid Out More Than $100 Million to Podcast Creators — and It Isn’t Done Giving Away Money

This isn’t Spotify’s first venture into AI in audiobooks. In February, Spotify partnered with AI voice generation company ElevenLabs to add more AI-narrated audiobooks to its offerings, announcing that it would start accepting audiobooks recorded using ElevenLabs’ AI voice platform. ElevenLabs allows authors to narrate their audiobooks in 29 languages, including English, Mandarin and Spanish, using AI-generated voices.

Spotify has also recently faced pushback for the proliferation of AI-generated music on its platform. In September, the company took steps to address its AI music problem, stating that it was rolling out a new music spam filter to detect spam tracks.

Spotify’s new feature makes it easier to pick up an audiobook where you left off, without needing to rewind or listen to previous chapters.

Spotify introduced the AI-powered feature, called “Recaps,” on Thursday, describing it in a press release as a “powerful” tool that gives listeners short audio summaries of the portion of the book they’ve already heard. When returning to an audiobook after some time away, users can tap the Recap button at the top of the audiobook page to hear an AI-generated summary of what has happened so far in the book. The feature is similar to a “previously on” segment at the beginning of a TV show episode.