Spotify adds Feature to Recap Audiobooks

Spotify recently introduced a new feature called Recaps, which gives short AI-generated audio summaries based on the part of an audiobook the listener has already heard, to catch them up. Spotify is pitching it for people who pause a book for a while, fall asleep while listening, or simply for people who forgot the last chapter. But I wonder if listeners really want automated catch-ups for books, or if this solves a problem that most people have already figured out, with simply rewinding, bookmarks, or chapter skipping.

The feature is available for Premium users and will appear after 15-20 minutes of listening to a book, will update regularly, summarize only what you’ve already heard, and avoid spoilers or recreating the narration. Spotify says that the audiobook content will not be used for LLM training and that Recaps won’t mimic narrator voices, which is reassuring. Recaps might help some listeners stay on track, but it is unclear how this will change how people enjoy audiobooks, especially since it is in a limited beta.

Spotify's new Recap feature for audiobooks will appear after 15 to 20 minutes of listening, giving regular updated summaries that show only the content already heard. It also won’t reveal plot points or replicate a narrator’s voice. Importantly, Spotify has said that audiobook content used for Recaps will not be used to train large language models (LLMs). While Recaps could help users in keeping track of detailed narratives, what it does to the audiobook experience is still uncertain, as the feature is currently available in limited beta testing.

Would you actually use the Recap feature? Would this make you more likely to finish a book, or would it not change anything about how you listen? Let us know in the comments!

Source and Image: Spotify