Amazon-owned audiobook company Audible said Wednesday it is testing an AI-powered search feature to help users narrow down their audiobook searches.
Starting today, select customers in the U.S. will be able to interact with Maven, Audible's new personal recommendation expert, which surfaces title suggestions based on a user's specific requests. Users can enter a query using natural language, and Maven will respond with customized recommendations drawn from Audible's catalog of nearly one million titles. For example, “I'm looking for uplifting fiction novels with female protagonists.”
Maven is available on the web, iOS and Android devices, and about half of Audible's U.S. customers on all membership plans have access to the feature, but it's currently limited to a “subset” of audiobook libraries, according to a blog post from the company.
As with any beta product, Audible will continue to enhance its features over time.
Image credit: Audible
Audible didn't say which AI models are being used for the feature, but a company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Maven leverages “the strengths of multiple models” and will “continuously evaluate” models as they improve.
The company is also using AI in other ways: Alongside announcing the release of Maven, the company revealed that it's also experimenting with AI-curated collections and AI-generated reviews. The former feature is noteworthy because it could be Audible's answer to Spotify's AI-generated playlists.
Today's announcement comes after reports that Audible users are listening to thousands of AI-voiced audiobooks, sparking a backlash from creators who feel threatened by robots taking over the jobs of audiobook narrators. As of May, more than 40,000 titles were labeled as having an AI narrator, and that number is likely growing.