Pocket Casts has introduced a new feature called Generated Transcripts, bringing automatic text versions of podcast episodes to users. This addition is available for listeners on both Android and iOS devices who are subscribed to the service's Plus or Patron tiers.
Generated Transcripts are meant to make it easier to interact with audio content. Instead of just listening, you can read along, search for words or phrases in an episode, and quickly go back to parts you want to hear again without having to scroll around. According to the announcement from Pocket Casts:
Podcasts are full of incredible insights, but sometimes you want to revisit a key moment without scrubbing through the entire episode. With Generated Transcripts, you can now read along, search for specific phrases, and quickly find key discussions—even if a show doesn’t have their own transcripts.
This works a lot like a feature Apple added last year to the Podcasts app on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, where transcripts show up automatically soon after an episode goes live. Pocket Casts states its new system will prioritize transcripts that podcast creators provide themselves. However, for episodes where a creator has not supplied their own transcript, the generated version will become available.
We continue to support transcripts provided by podcast creators, ensuring that manually curated ones remain available. However, with this new feature, we’re expanding access by automatically generating them for new episodes from the most-followed podcasts.
Users can access these transcripts from the player screen by tapping the message icon in the toolbar. If it is not immediately visible, it can be found through the dot menu or by customizing the toolbar layout.
Pocket Casts is a well-regarded podcast application, originally launched in 2011 and now owned by Automattic. The company made its web app free for everyone just last month, a move presented as a push towards a more open podcasting ecosystem.
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