Spotify is launching a new AI feature for audiobooks that summarizes what you’ve already heard without having to rewind. The company compares the feature, called Recaps, to the “already on” segments at the beginning of episodes in TV series.
Recaps will be automatically available in the iOS app for a limited number of English-language audiobooks, with plans to expand to more audiobooks in an unspecified time frame. While the recap button is always present on supported titles, according to the Spotify blog post on the feature, you’ll need to listen to the audiobook for more than 15-20 minutes to get a summary. After that, the recaps will be “regularly updated” as you progress through the audiobook. “It’s designed to help people complete the books they’ve started,” the company says in the blog.
True-crime author JH Markert called the feature “an audio bookmark that talks” in a company blog. “It blew my mind just using it once. As smart as it is sophisticated, this feature is a must-have for any audiobook lover.”
Spotify clarified that Recaps uses AI, but ensures that the original works – including book content and voice narration – remain protected. “We are not using the audiobook content for LLM training purposes or voice creation, and recaps do not in any way mimic narration or replace the original audiobook,” Paul Bennett, Spotify’s LLM research director, wrote in the blog post.