Podcast Advertising in the Age of AI Insertion

Podcasts used to be "baked in." The host read the ad, and it lived in the MP3 forever. Now, Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) is the standard. When you download a 5-year-old episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," the ad you hear is for a product launching today.

Programmatic Audio

You can buy podcast ads through DSPs (Demand Side Platforms) just like display ads. Targeting:

• Genre (True Crime, Business).
• Geography (Listeners in New York).
• Behavior (Business Owners).

AI Hosts?

Spotify is experimenting with AI-generated host voices for ads. "Hey, this is [AI Voice], interrupting your music to tell you about..." It's cheaper than recording a human, but risks alienating listeners.

The "Intimacy" Factor

Audio is intimate. It's in your ear. Trust is high. If you can get into a listener's routine (The Morning Commute), you build brand memory faster than a fleeting visual impression.