AI-Powered Podcast Analytics: The Next Wave
Let’s get one thing out of the way: AI isn’t just for writing intros and editing audio anymore. It’s coming for analytics next — and if you’re still only looking at downloads and completion rate...
Let’s get one thing out of the way: AI isn’t just for writing intros and editing audio anymore.
It’s coming for your analytics next — and if you’re still only looking at downloads and completion rates, you’re already behind.
The Prompt:
A recent Slashdot roundup highlighted how tools like Podcastle are streamlining podcast creation with AI, but what nobody’s really unpacking is how analytics is the next frontier of innovation.
We’ve got AI summarizing interviews in Squadcast and Descript, scripting ad reads, and even cutting highlight clips. But now, AI is starting to analyze listener behavior at scale, predict drop-off moments, and surface insights even experienced showrunners miss.
The Elephant In The Room: Walled Gardens Suck
I’m going to go on a bit of a related caveat for a second because it’s my newsletter and I do what I want. It’s no secret that podcast analytics is far behind other industries (except maybe broadcast tv and cable? But FAR beyond other industry metrics) and it is disappointing but not puzzling as to why.
As short sighted as it is, the distribution platforms which can and should be tracking segments/analytics like engaged listeners vs listeners, etc and reporting them back to hosts to provide actionable intel to content creators are too focused on a myopic walled-garden approach to - there, I said it. I know it makes me a curmudgeon, but it’s the truth. I should be able to treat a third quartile drop-off listener differently than I do one who never makes it past the intro - much like I can with my email list, videos, paid advertising, etc.
Spotify, Apple, Castbox, etc - if you’re listening - PLEASE give us something here. Even in-app advertising only would be something that allows us to give the audiences what they want in a more efficient way - which is good for EVERYONE involved. The listeners (who we all seem to forget about), the platforms, the content creators, the advertisers whose money we are competing for. EVERYONE.
**Steps off soapbox**. Now then.
Who’s Leading the Charge:
There’s a few people we are watching closely and testing with both accounts we work with the platforms to procure and proxy accounts through clients so that we get a full picture of the true user experience. We also take and aggregate feedback from the dozens of shows in our repertoire to truly give you a good picture (coming in individual articles we’re working on about each of these tools) to come.
Podscribe isn’t just about transcripts — it’s a full-blown analytics and attribution platform that helps podcasters prove their value to advertisers. Think contextual keyword analysis, brand-safety checks, and episode-level tracking that shows exactly where ads ran and how they performed. While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a B2B show or heavily indie formats, for creators serious about monetization it’s like having a pitch deck built into your RSS feed - for real - and makes you look way more legit to ad buyers with beautifully formatted reports and baked-in brand alignment tools.
Podsights – is the gold standard for podcast attribution (you’ve seen it raved about in articles with heavy hitters on this newsletter already) — especially if you’re running paid campaigns or working with direct-response advertisers. It lets you see exactly who heard your ad and whether they took action, like visiting a landing page or making a purchase. Now part of Spotify’s growing ad ecosystem, it’s still one of the most trusted tools for matching real-world behavior to podcast impressions. If you’re serious about closing the loop between downloads and dollars, Podsights should be in your stack.
MowPod Charts: This one just got a big upgrade from the guys over at MowPod, who we love for several things. After a big hole in chart ranking and analysis after the Chartable collapse, MowPod delivered this forever-free tool earlier this year, promising big upgrades which came recently in the addition of Spotify’s charts, a partnership with Podnews (the industry’s top newsletter, James Cridland is awesome if you haven’t followed him yet), and enhanced social sharing of your ranking.
Megaphone: As much as I hate the walled garden, I have been a career-long fan of Megaphone, and after Chartable they really did step in to absorb many of the key functions and are working hard to move much of that in house. Plus, their client service is great - which is a complaint I hear a lot about other hosting platforms. You can explore getting Megaphone hosting by contacting my buddy Scott Solomon at ssolomon@spotify.com.
Podtrac– One of the longest-standing measurement tools in podcasting, offering IAB-certified analytics and third-party credibility that many advertisers still trust. While it doesn’t offer flashy dashboards or deep attribution like newer players, it’s a go-to for publishers who want standardized, independent audience metrics — especially when working with brands or networks that require consistent benchmarking. If you’re looking to validate your numbers beyond your hosting platform, Podtrac is a reliable, no-frills addition to your analytics stack.
Podder (Formerly PodderApp) – I’ve been testing Podder recently, and while it’s still early days, it’s showing promise as a lightweight tool for surfacing podcast growth signals that often get buried. The UI is a little clunky IMHO (they’re trying way too hard with the repackaging of demo data that’s already in hosts, etc), but I like that it pulls in public-facing data like reviews, follower counts, and Apple chart movement — especially helpful when you're benchmarking against other shows or pitching yourself for collaborations.
PodSEO - We wrote about these guys recently after I had lunch with one of their founders up here in Alaska. At that lunch, Francesco promised me a test account to dive in, and it has been a game changer. I am in love with it. Not only is the tool backed by uber smart heavy hitters like Andrea De Marsi and Francesco Baschieri (who are already post-exit on popular tools like Spreaker and former iHeart execs which gives them incredible industry insight) but their tool is no nonsense and makes real recommendations that can help your show WAY beyond just SEO. It scans your titles, episode descriptions, and metadata across Apple and Spotify to give you an actionable score — kind of like a mini SEMrush for podcasters. Early impressions? It’s a smart tool if you’re trying to optimize for cross-platform discoverability, especially if you’ve never taken the time to clean up your show-level and episode-level metadata. It’s not perfect, but it’s already made me rethink how I structure metadata for shows (and yes, it flagged some lazy ones I thought were clever). Definitely worth trying if you want to compete in the “discovery” layer of the funnel.
Why This Matters:
“Your analytics should be a roadmap — not just a scoreboard.”
AI unlocks proactive insights, not just reactive charts. Imagine knowing:
Where 80% of your audience bounces — and why
Which keywords you’re competing for and with what kind of volume.
When to cut the fat from your episode length based on pattern recognition
And in a landscape where advertisers are demanding proof, AI-enabled insights are your moat.
This isn’t speculative. It’s all either already here or rolling out fast, and we’ll continue to stay up-to-date on these developments as they hit the stack for podcasters everywhere.