AI and Podcasts: Summary of an Interview with Riverside's Head of Marketing

Podcasts and videos are potent avenues for expanding audiences and bolstering brand recognition.

With more than 140 million podcast enthusiasts in the United States and over 40% of U.S. users engaging with online videos daily, the potential of these platforms is undeniable.

However, the creation of compelling video and audio content demands substantial time, dedication, and resources. The advent of AI is poised to reshape the landscape, revolutionizing the content creation process, liberating teams to concentrate on strategic pursuits, and minimizing the resources expended on pre-production, editing, and more.

Abel Grunfeld, Head of Marketing at Riverside, talked to the team at HubSpot and shed light on why he is increasingly optimistic about AI's potential to reshape the future of audio and video.

The Evolution of Podcasts and Video Through AI, According to Riverside's Head of Marketing

Here are a few ways that AI could streamline the podcasting process.

Pre Interview Research

One of the most egregious missteps is posing a question that an interviewee has fielded numerous times before. Such instances can undermine the interview's originality and value, potentially signaling a lack of preparation and diminishing audience interest.

Thankfully, AI emerges as a robust resource for pre-interview research and question formulation.

Grunfeld explains, "For interviews featuring guests, AI significantly assists in research. It helps uncover an individual's stance on a specific topic, enabling the creation of novel questions that explore whether their perspective has evolved or persisted, and even challenge their viewpoints."

Consider leveraging AI chat tools to generate tailored queries for interviewees or use AI to compile comprehensive background information about their organizations, enriching the interview context.

Pre-Production and Concept Testing

AI will permit concept testing during pre-production. Pre-production stages, encompassing location shoots, set design, and talent selection, are labor-intensive and costly.

Grunfeld notes that communicating a vivid mental image to a team can be problematic, leading to misalignment among team members' interpretations.

He remarks, "Presently, pre-production relies heavily on verbal communication. However, the visualization might differ from one person to another."

He adds, "AI, exemplified by tools like Midjourney, mitigates uncertainty. It facilitates visual representation and testing of concepts, ensuring their alignment with the envisioned outcome."

Ultimately, AI streamlines processes, aiding in achieving precision during the initial attempt. Grunfeld emphasizes, "AI instills certainty and enhances preparation, paving the way for greater efficiency in determining set requirements, talent choices, camera angles, and more."

Post-Production and Editing

AI will revolutionize post-production, dramatically shortening editing durations. The post-production phase constitutes a formidable challenge in podcast and video production, making it an arena where AI's impact will be most profound.

Grunfeld contends that compared to the 30 to 60-minute discussions typical of the production phase, post-production can consume up to 10 hours. The asymmetry in effort allocation underscores the importance of post-production.

Post-production demands establishing success benchmarks and clear criteria. Grunfeld highlights AI's effectiveness in this context.

For instance, AI can swiftly and accurately transcribe conversations, and Riverside provides an exceptionally precise AI transcription tool free of charge, accommodating 100+ languages.

AI can subsequently automate content creation, as Grunfeld explains, "Manual creation of sequences, person placements, and layouts becomes obsolete with AI. It offers automated solutions, enabling anyone, irrespective of their expertise, to craft captivating conversational videos at the click of a button."

Podcasting Promotion Efficiency

AI will enhance the efficiency of podcast and video promotion. 

Grunfeld concurs, "Expecting audiences to invest an hour or more in video or podcast consumption without a preview is unrealistic. Social media clips serve as potent awareness tools, but they entail significant effort."

He adds, "AI's role in this context is poised to expand. Instead of manually sifting through lengthy videos, AI can automatically identify compelling moments, enabling seamless clip creation ready for dissemination."

Riverside's recently launched tool, Magic Clips, leverages AI to pinpoint significant segments within recordings and transform them into stand-alone clips. This optimization ensures compatibility with various social media platforms.

AI can also enhance social media promotions surrounding podcast and video content. AI-generated titles, summaries, show notes, and more can streamline promotional efforts.

Moreover, AI facilitates repurposing content for social media posts and blog articles, maximizing the value extracted from each piece of content.

AI, Podcasting, and Storytelling

AI empowers teams to concentrate on the core essence of podcasts and videos: storytelling. Grunfeld underscores that presently, the time allocated to devising overarching content strategy and framing video or audio content within that strategy is often underestimated. The importance of framing individual episodes or conversations is similarly undervalued.

He encourages content producers to dedicate thought to strategy, aligning content creation with broader business objectives.

AI furnishes producers with extra time to emphasize these strategic aspects. Grunfeld elaborates, "AI aids in reallocating saved time for refining content premises. It also guarantees brand-consistent production quality. Given that a business's content shapes perception, this is pivotal."

AI Bridges the Knowledge Gap

AI bridges the knowledge gap, facilitating diverse perspectives. One of AI's most promising attributes is its capacity to dismantle barriers relating to creativity, technology, resources, and knowledge. In essence, AI can democratize podcast and video production.

Historically, podcasting and video production necessitated proficiency in audio or video engineering, editing, and storytelling. If AI can shoulder most of the engineering and editing complexities, storytelling becomes the central focus.

This shift excites Grunfeld the most. He asserts, "Videos and podcasts revolve around storytelling. Many individuals may not realize they possess unique stories to share. Crafting a narrative that resonates with pride can be challenging."

He continues, "AI transforms creators from engineering editors to curators. The role of storyteller remains, with curatorial responsibilities involving editing and structure to amplify narrative impact. Consequently, a broader demographic gains the ability to articulate themselves."

He concludes, "The future of audio and video promises more diverse perspectives and thoughts, fostering richer dialogues and progress."

AI Podcast Hosts?

Lastly… Will AI avatars replace human hosts? An apprehension regarding AI's role in podcast and video production is the potential replacement of human hosts with AI avatars.

Fortunately, Grunfeld anticipates this outcome to be an exception. While he envisions AI avatars suitable for tutorial-based content, he asserts that the human-to-human interaction remains irreplaceable.

Grunfeld underscores, "Human-to-human interaction carries energy, enabling mutual enhancement. It fosters a connection that an avatar might not replicate."

He adds, "Although avatars may have use cases, envisioning a conversation between a thought leader with a compelling story and an avatar feels incongruous. Without shared energy, the premise of such a dialogue seems unnecessary."