Inception Point AI produces 3,000 podcast episodes weekly and maintains profitability with just 20 listeners per show. Ashley Carman reports for Bloomberg. Co-founder Jeanine Wright says the company will continue its AI-driven approach despite widespread industry backlash calling the content “slop.”
Wright predicts AI will become the default content creation method within 12 to 24 months. She believes human-created content will eventually require special labeling as an anomaly. The company operates 724 shows about public figures, updating them automatically when news breaks.
Critics raised ethical concerns after Inception Point AI published episodes about a recent shooting within 15 minutes of the news breaking. Wright acknowledges that one-third to half of downloads come from fully automated shows, while sensitive topics like health content receive human oversight.
The company relies on programmatic advertising and considers any show with 20 impressions profitable. Wright defends the model as necessary for sustainable podcasting economics, arguing traditional approaches focused on big hits are broken.