Ears wide open: Audio is booming, and AI voices are getting a hearing

Audio is no longer a niche habit. According to new research commissioned by Audible, 34% of listeners worldwide consumed more spoken-word content over the past year than the year before. "The Future of Listening" is one of NielsenIQ's most comprehensive global studies of spoken-word audio entertainment and was presented at Frankfurt Book Fair. It surveyed 18,000 people aged 18 to 64 in 11 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US. It covers audiobooks, podcasts and both scripted and unscripted audio series.

The share of listeners consuming more than a year earlier was highest in Brazil (46%) and Mexico (44%), followed by the UK (38%) and the US (35%). "What's particularly striking about this research is the scale and momentum of audio's growth," said Rachel Ghiazza, Audible's Chief Content Officer. In a panel discussion in Frankfurt, she named Japan and Brazil as the fastest-growing markets right now. To publishers still hesitant to invest in audio, she said: "The time is now."

For the book trade, the clearest finding is that audio does not cannibalise reading. 61% of respondents had read a title in print or as an e-book after listening to it, and 69% had listened to an audiobook of a title they had already read in another format. Almost two-thirds (63%) bought a print or e-book by an author after listening to one of their audiobooks. Since taking up audiobooks, 29% have tried new authors and 29% new genres. 26% read more e-books and 22% more print books.

Audio is increasingly seen as a wellness and self-care activity. In every country surveyed, listening at home to relax was the top listening occasion, and feeling relaxed and comforted was the emotion audio evoked most often. 51% said spoken-word audio had helped them intentionally replace screen-time entertainment, and 47% attributed a reduction in their social media use to listening. Parents named screen-free entertainment as the number one reason for encouraging their children to listen. 52% of audio-listening parents said their children listen too. "We're seeing audiences listen more, explore different ways to experience stories and increasingly turn to audio as a means of switching off and recharging," Ghiazza said.

Genre remains the most important factor when choosing a title worldwide. Topic or personal interest ranks second in every market, with the narrator a close third: 65% of listeners seek out more books by a narrator they like. Social media such as BookTok remains a top destination for discovering new content, especially in Brazil, Mexico and the US.

Half of respondents said they were open to listening to or trying AI-narrated content, from 42% in Germany to 66% in Japan. In most countries, listeners were most receptive to AI-narrated fiction. Germany and Japan were the exceptions, where non-fiction was preferred. Overall, 67% said they were excited about the future of spoken-word audio entertainment, with listeners in Brazil, Japan, Italy and Mexico particularly enthusiastic.

On the panel, Ghiazza described AI as one tool in a wider strategy rather than a replacement for human performers. She pointed to the large gap between the titles available in print and e-book form and those in audio, particularly across languages, and said the technology could help close it. Humans remain involved throughout production, she said, and the savings can fund more audiobooks. Quality and transparency are decisive, because listeners want what they hear to sound good, whether the voice is human or synthetic.

The German results, based on 1,500 respondents, are more cautious on AI than the global average:

• AI: 58% of Germans want exclusively human voices. A further 21% prefer them for now but would consider AI in future, 14% are open to AI, 6% are equally open to both and 1% prefer AI. For fiction, human narrators are clearly preferred.

• Growth: 32% listen to more audio than a year ago, and 66% are excited about the future of audio entertainment.

• Motives: Entertainment (77%), relaxation (76%), learning (65%) and slowing down (64%).

• Crossover: 52% read a print or e-book after listening to it, 66% listen to an audiobook of a book they have already read, and 60% buy further titles by the same author.

• Habits: Audiobook sessions last 31.6 minutes on average, longer than podcasts (27.7) or audio series (25.8). 82% prefer to listen alone.

• Taste: Mystery & thriller (34%), crime (23%) and humour & comedy (22%) lead the genres. 62% of German audiobook listeners specifically look for more books read by their favourite narrators.

• Discovery: Social media (56%) and word of mouth (41%) lead the way.

• Families: 63% of parents say their children listen to audio, mainly because it is screen-free (49%). More than half of multi-person households already share an audio subscription. The strongest levers for more family subscriptions would be a lower price (29%) and ad-free listening (25%).

Alongside the research, Ghiazza outlined several initiatives:

• Localisation: Audible operates in more than 225 countries and territories. It launched 11 dedicated local experiences this year, with Indonesia, South Korea, Denmark, Norway and Finland to follow, each with local content, marketing and discovery.

• Interactive storytelling: announced last week, it lets listeners take part in a story developed with its creator. Early data suggests higher engagement and a greater likelihood of continuing with a series.

• Read and Listen: the combined e-book and audiobook feature is coming to five more marketplaces.

• Audible for Business: sponsored cards that employers can give to staff, and that authors and publishers can hand out at events.

• Household sharing: a way for family members to share a membership while keeping their discovery recommendations separate.

• Creator insights: new reporting tools giving publishers and other providers more detail on their audiences and sales.

The catalogue on audible.de comprises more than one million titles, including over 115,000 in German, and Audible offers content in more than 50 languages. Total listening time on Audible has grown by double digits year on year.

Ghiazza said she hopes publishers take one message home from Frankfurt: demand is established, and investing in audio now is the better bet.

Audible is not the only player making moves in audio. Spotify announced this week that it will expand audiobooks from 22 to more than 180 markets by the end of the year, with the rollout starting on 7 October. Its pitch is a single app combining music, podcasts and audiobooks, backed by a catalog of more than 800,000 titles and new local-language offerings in markets such as Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.