How to save time by using AI in your podcast

AI can help you make more content in less time

Podcasting is time-consuming.

Between idea generation, recording, editing and promotion, it can feel like a full-time job on top of the one you’ve probably already got.

And this is where AI tools can really help.

The role of AI in content creation is not to replace you, your voice or your creativity.

It’s to save you time on the laborious grunt work around your show, so you can focus on the stuff that matters.

Whether you’re using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or AI features in your podcast host, there are plenty of ways AI can save you time without sacrificing quality.

Want help starting your podcast? Download my FREE ‘How To Start A Podcast’ guide.

Use AI to generate (and clean) your podcast transcript

Having a transcript of your podcast episodes can make your show more accessible and easier to find in search.

And thanks to AI, you don’t have to spend hours manually typing them out.

You also don’t have to upload your audio to a separate transcription tool anymore because most hosts offer these tools inside their platform.

As with anything AI generated you can’t just copy and paste the output because it’s not perfect, but instead of having to read through line by line, you can make AI do the work.

A note that you need to be very clear you only want the transcript cleaned up for spelling and grammar because AI likes to go off on it’s own tangent and paraphrase your words.

But when you instruct it properly (and it listens) it’s a MUCH faster way to create a transcript that’s polished enough to put out.

Use AI to brainstorm content ideas

One of the toughest things about podcasting is consistently coming up with new ideas.

If your show is always-on (publishing episodes every week, ongoing), that’s a lot of content you need to keep pumping out.

And the truth is that sometimes you need a little inspiration.

Again, that’s where AI can help.

Instead of staring at a blank page trying to come up with ideas, you can prompt AI to generate content and work on it from there.

Will every idea it gives you be a winner? Absolutely not.

But at least you’ve got something to work on so you can use your knowledge, creativity and expertise to shape the ideas from there.

Use AI to repurpose your podcast content

This is where I think AI really shines because, to promote your podcast effectively, you have to come up with A LOT of promotional content.

And there’s no better source material for generating ideas than the transcript of your episodes, because it’s all in your words.

After your episode is edited you can feed the transcript into an AI tool and ask it to generate blog posts, emails, tips for social media, carousel post ideas, you name it.

Before I started using AI, I was manually pulling tips out of the transcript and reformatting them into different pieces of content.

Now I just give ChatGPT the transcript and ask for what I need.

It still takes work to polish the outputs but that first draft is a massive head start.

Use AI to clean up your audio (carefully)

There are some brilliant AI audio tools out there, like Adobe Enhance and Auphonic, that can help you polish your audio.

But a word of warning…don’t overdo it.

If you go too far ‘cleaning up’ your audio it can make you sound robotic and electronic because it removes all the warmth from your voice.

My rule of thumb is that you should use these tools to assist, not replace, your ear.

Use AI for video editing and social clips (with caution)

There are heaps of tools out there like Opus Clip, Descript, Riverside, and VEED that promise to automatically pull short-form video clips from your episode.

Some are decent. Most still need work.

If your show has clearly defined segments, you’ll probably get better results than if it’s a free-flowing chat between multiple co-hosts.

But even then, I still find myself manually tweaking clips so they make sense as standalone pieces of content.

And that’s the key with video promos…they have to work out of context.

Most people will watch your clips on the platform you’ve shared them on and never click through to your podcast, so it’s important each clip holds its own.

We’re definitely not at set-and-forget territory yet with this feature, but it’s worth experimenting to see what works for your show.

AI can help, but it can’t replace you

The goal here isn’t to get AI to do all the work so you can sit back, relax and sound like a robot.

The idea is to let it handle some of the most laborious, time consuming, often soul destroying bits of work so you can focus on making a great show.

Whether it’s helping you generate ideas, polish transcripts, or create more content to promote your episodes, there are plenty of ways to use AI to make your workflow more efficient.

But don’t let it come at the expense of quality.

Your listeners are tuning in for you.

Your voice. Your experience. Your take.

So use these tools to support that, not to replace it.