Spotify is introducing a new feature for audiobooks called Recaps, which summarizes content that users have already heard, eliminating the need to rewind. The company compares Recaps to a “previously on” segment often seen at the beginning of television episodes. Currently, this feature will automatically be available in the iOS app for a limited selection of English-language audiobooks, with plans for future expansion.
To access the Recap feature, users must listen to more than 15 to 20 minutes of an audiobook. Once this threshold is met, Recaps will be updated regularly as users continue to listen. The aim of this feature is to assist listeners in completing the audiobooks they start, according to Spotify’s blog post.
Notably, Spotify emphasizes that while Recaps utilizes artificial intelligence, the integrity of the original audiobook content and voice narration is preserved. Paul Bennett, Spotify’s research director, clarified in the blog that they are not using audiobook content for large language model training or voice generation, ensuring that Recaps do not replicate the narration or replace the audiobook itself.
The feature has garnered comments from users, including true-crime author J.H. Markert, who described it as an “audio bookmark that speaks” and has suggested it could enhance the experience for audiobook enthusiasts. However, further details regarding the timeline for expanding the feature to additional titles remain unspecified.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/819476/spotify-audiobook-ai-recaps-short-summary