Spotify is testing a new feature that will make it easier to pick up that audiobook you’ve ignored for a long time. The streaming service is releasing recaps for audiobooks that can summarize the story to the point where the user has stopped listening. Recaps will be available after the user has spent 15 to 20 minutes in the audiobook and will be updated to reflect what point the listener has reached without spoiling anything further. This can help listeners finish audiobooks they haven’t revisited in a while without having to restart from the beginning, and it can also be handy for simply refreshing your memory on the plot.
This is an AI-powered feature, but Spotify notes that it will not train any large language models on the authors’ content or develop voice generation from the narrators’ performances. For now, recaps are only available on Spotify’s iOS app for select English-language titles. The company said it plans to add recaps for more content in the future.