YouTube has a new strategy to win over Spotify's audio-first podcasters using AI (www.businessinsider.com)

YouTube announced new AI tools to help audio-first podcasters automatically generate short video clips and highlights, aiming to convert them into video creators. Starting next year, a limited set of U.S. podcasters will be able to use Google's Veo AI to turn audio transcripts into 30–60 second visuals that can publish as Shorts or be stitched into long-form uploads. Separately, YouTube will roll out an AI-powered clipping feature in the coming months to extract punchy highlights from video podcasts for Shorts. The tools are explicitly aimed at creators with little video experience who want to avoid complex multi-camera setups. The move is significant because listener preferences are shifting toward video — surveys show U.S. preference for video podcasts rose to 42% in Aug 2024 — and rivals like Spotify, Netflix and Apple are pushing into video podcasting. YouTube’s strategy leverages its native video distribution, established ad-revenue sharing, and Shorts discovery funnel (44% of new podcast audiences begin on YouTube) to lower production friction and accelerate creator migration. Technically, automated transcript-to-visual generation and AI clipping could change production workflows, boost discoverability of formerly audio-only shows, and intensify competition over podcast monetization and audience acquisition.