Amazon-owned audiobook company Audible has announced that it is testing an AI-powered search feature, Maven, which aims to make it easier for users to find audiobooks. Some customers in the U.S. can now interact with this new AI-powered personalized recommendation engine, which suggests audiobooks based on user queries. Users can utilize natural language to enter their queries, and Maven will provide personalized recommendations based on Audible’s catalog of nearly a million titles. This feature will be available on iOS and Android devices, and nearly half of Audible’s U.S. customers will have access to it, regardless of their plan. However, the company states that the searches are currently limited to a “subset” of its audiobook library, but they plan to continue developing and improving the new search tool. We’ll keep you updated on the progress.
AI-Curated Collections and Reviews
Along with the Maven announcement, Audible said it is also experimenting with AI-curated “Collections” and AI-generated reviews. Audible’s “Collections” could be the company’s answer to Spotify’s AI-generated playlists, offering a curated listening experience for users. The introduction of AI-generated reviews is another step in Audible’s efforts to leverage technology to enhance the audiobook discovery process.
Addressing Concerns about AI Narration
Earlier, there was backlash from actors and other creatives when it was revealed that more than 40,000 books in Audible’s library were narrated by AI as of May 2024. This number has likely increased significantly by now. The use of AI narration has raised concerns among the creative community, who fear that it could replace human narrators and impact their livelihoods. Audible has not disclosed the specific AI models used in the development of Maven or the AI-generated reviews, but they have stated that they will “continuously evaluate” the models as they improve, notes NIX Solutions.
Overall, Audible’s AI-powered advancements in search, curation, and review generation demonstrate the company’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance the audiobook experience for its users. As these features continue to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Audible navigates the concerns raised by the creative community and balances the use of AI with the importance of human-narrated audiobooks.