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What it takes to start a podcast, and where AI tools save the most time

  • 10 stages, 27 tools
  • updated

Recording a conversation takes an hour. Turning it into an episode used to take the rest of the week: leveling two voices recorded in two different rooms, cutting the false starts, writing show notes, exporting, uploading, and then making something to post so anyone finds it. That post-production pile is a common reason new shows stall after a handful of episodes, and it is the part AI has changed most.

Noise and echo can be removed with one upload. Filler words and long pauses are detected and cut automatically. Editing happens in a transcript instead of on a waveform, and the same transcript becomes show notes, timestamps, a newsletter draft and a set of captioned clips. Hosting services generate the feed and submit it to the listening apps.

None of this makes a show worth subscribing to. A clear premise, a host who listens, guests with something to say and the habit of publishing on schedule are still the whole game. The steps below are arranged in the order you will meet them for a first episode.

Who this is for People launching a first interview or solo show, small businesses starting a company podcast, and existing hosts who want to spend less time on post-production and promotion.

Start here

For a first episode you need to record, clean, publish and tell people. These four were picked because each record describes that single step directly; they are a starting route, not a ranking.

  1. RiversideRecording the episode

    Record a ten-minute test with a friend as the guest and check that you get separate tracks.

  2. Audio EnhancerAudio cleanup

    Upload the test, apply noise and echo removal, and compare the before and after versions on headphones.

  3. RSS.comHosting and distribution

    Create the show, upload a short trailer and submit the feed to the directories before episode one is ready.

  4. OpusClipClips and promotion

    Paste the first episode, review the suggested clips and post the two that make sense without context.

  1. Stage 1: Show concept and episode research

    You define who the show is for and what each episode promises, then research the topic or the guest and prepare an outline with the questions you want to ask.

    What AI does here
    Gather background on a topic or guest with cited sources, summarize long material into key points, and draft an episode outline or question list to edit.
    What AI can’t do here
    Supply curiosity. A generated question list is the same list every other host gets, and the follow-up that makes an interview good happens live, from listening.

    Perplexity

    Answers research questions directly with sources, which helps when exploring an unfamiliar topic through follow-up questions.

    AI answer engine that responds to questions with sourced answers and can take on longer projects through Computer.

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    Liner

    Returns answers with line-by-line citations that open the source in one click, and gathers a topic into an organized report.

    AI search and research agents that give cited answers, find academic papers and draft documents.

    View tool
  2. Stage 2: Booking guests

    Guests are invited, a recording time is agreed across time zones, and reminders go out so that both sides arrive prepared with working equipment.

    What AI does here
    Publish a booking page that shows only your free slots, send reminders automatically, and coordinate a time inside an email thread.
    What AI can’t do here
    Persuade someone to say yes. The invitation that works is short, personal and shows you know the guest's work, and that message is yours to write.

    Calendly

    Gives invitees a link to book an open slot from your real availability and sends reminders automatically.

    Meeting scheduling software with an AI email assistant, a notetaker, contact profiles and built-in payments.

    From $10/moView tool

    Cal.com

    Publishes a booking link that checks connected calendars for conflicts, with buffers before and after each session and automated reminders.

    Open scheduling platform with booking links, team routing, an API and the Cal.ai phone agent.

    View tool
  3. Stage 3: Recording the episode

    The conversation is captured, in a room or remotely, with each speaker on a separate track where possible so that problems on one voice can be fixed without touching the other.

    What AI does here
    Record each remote participant locally on a separate track and suppress background noise and echo while the call is happening.
    What AI can’t do here
    Fix a bad microphone position or a guest on laptop speakers after the fact as well as avoiding it would have. A two-minute sound check beats any repair tool.

    Riverside

    Captures each speaker on their own device in uncompressed audio and up to 4K video, saved as separate tracks.

    Browser-based studio for recording, editing, live streaming and publishing podcasts and video with AI tools.

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    Descript

    Lets a host record remotely with a guest and then cut the same recording in one tool.

    AI video and audio editor where you cut recordings by editing the transcript, with an assistant called Underlord.

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    Krisp

    Strips background sounds, echo and cross-talk from calls in any conferencing application while you talk.

    Voice AI for calls: noise cancellation, a bot-free meeting note taker, accent conversion and call center tools.

    View tool
  4. Stage 4: Audio cleanup

    Before any cutting, the raw tracks are repaired: background noise and room echo are reduced, levels are evened out, and clicks and plosives are tamed.

    What AI does here
    Remove constant noise and echo, balance loud and quiet passages, and reduce mouth clicks and harsh sibilants from an uploaded file.
    What AI can’t do here
    Recover speech that was never recorded clearly. Heavy processing leaves voices thin or watery, so compare before and after and stop when it sounds natural.

    Audio Enhancer

    Suppresses background noise, clears room echo and balances loudness on an uploaded recording, with a before-and-after comparison.

    Online AI tool that cleans up recordings by removing noise and echo, fixing loudness and tidying speech.

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    Cleanvoice AI

    Takes out background noise, hum, echo, breaths and mouth sounds automatically and can enhance an untreated recording.

    AI podcast editor that removes filler words, background noise and dead air from audio and video recordings.

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    Xound

    Isolates the voice from sounds such as traffic or air conditioning and keeps volume consistent through a recording.

    Browser-based AI audio cleaner that removes background noise, corrects pitch and levels voice recordings.

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    LALAL.AI

    Its voice cleaner takes out background music, plosives and microphone rumble from speech recordings, and reduces room echo.

    AI audio tools that split songs into vocal and instrument stems and clean, change or clone voices.

    View tool
  5. Stage 5: Editing the episode

    The episode is shaped: tangents and false starts are cut, the order is tightened, filler words and long pauses are trimmed, and the intro and outro are placed.

    What AI does here
    Cut audio by deleting words in a transcript, remove filler words and retakes in bulk, and apply the same cuts across every speaker's track.
    What AI can’t do here
    Judge what is interesting. Automatic filler removal can also clip natural pauses and make a guest sound rushed, so listen through the result before publishing.

    Descript

    Cuts and rearranges audio when the matching words in the transcript are edited, and deletes filler words and duplicate takes together.

    AI video and audio editor where you cut recordings by editing the transcript, with an assistant called Underlord.

    View tool

    Cleanvoice AI

    Detects and cuts filler words, stutters and long pauses across all speakers' tracks, then exports a timeline for your own editor.

    AI podcast editor that removes filler words, background noise and dead air from audio and video recordings.

    View tool
  6. Stage 6: Intro music and voiceover

    The show gets its sound: a short theme, transition stings, and a recorded or generated voice for the intro, outro and any sponsor reads.

    What AI does here
    Generate a theme from a description of genre and mood, produce short sound effects, and read an intro script in a chosen synthetic voice.
    What AI can’t do here
    Guarantee you may use the result commercially. Rights to generated music depend on the plan you hold, so check the license before a theme goes on a monetized show.

    Suno

    Creates a complete track from a plain-language description of genre, mood or theme, which you can extend or remix until it fits as a short theme.

    AI music generator that turns a text prompt or lyrics into a full song, with a browser studio and stem separation.

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    MusicGPT

    Creates instrumentals from a text description and generates individual sound effects from a prompt.

    AI music generator that creates songs, instrumentals, sound effects and speech from text prompts.

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    ElevenLabs

    Converts a written intro into spoken audio with a library voice or a copy of your own voice.

    AI audio platform for text to speech, voice cloning, transcription, dubbing, music and conversational voice agents.

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    Wondercraft

    Creates podcasts, audio ads and narrated content with voices, music and sound effects from notes, a document or a script.

    AI studio for business video and audio, combining generation models, guided workflows and a timeline editor.

    View tool
  7. Stage 7: Transcripts and show notes

    Each episode is transcribed, and from the transcript you write a title, a summary, chapter timestamps and links, plus a text version for the show's website.

    What AI does here
    Produce a speaker-labeled transcript and draft summaries, timestamps, titles, blog articles and newsletter text from it.
    What AI can’t do here
    Spell every guest and company name correctly or know which claim needs a link. Read the transcript and notes once before they go out under your name.

    Castmagic

    Produces timestamped transcripts with speakers identified and drafts show notes, articles, newsletters and social posts from each recording.

    Turns audio and video recordings into transcripts, show notes, posts, newsletters, clips and other content with AI.

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    Podsqueeze

    Generates a speaker-labeled transcript and drafts summaries, timestamps, titles and newsletters from an uploaded episode.

    AI podcast tool that produces transcripts, show notes, clips, audiograms and cleaned-up audio from an episode.

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    TurboScribe

    Transcribes an uploaded episode with speaker labels and downloads the result as Word, PDF, text or caption files.

    Audio and video transcription service powered by Whisper, with speaker labels, translation and subtitle export.

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    Transcript LOL

    Splits the transcript by speaker, lets you name each one, and creates summaries and topic lists from it.

    AI transcription service for audio and video with speaker detection, an editor, AI summaries and exports to text and subtitle formats.

    View tool
  8. Stage 8: Cover art

    A square cover is designed that stays legible at the tiny size podcast apps show it, with the show name readable and a look that matches the tone.

    What AI does here
    Generate cover concepts from a short brief, render the show name as correctly spelled lettering, and keep the text editable for later changes.
    What AI can’t do here
    Check the directory's artwork requirements or make sure the image is original. Verify size and format rules yourself, and avoid prompts that imitate another show's cover.

    Ideogram

    Generates layouts where headlines and lettering come out clean and correctly spelled, which matters when the show name is part of the image.

    Image models known for accurate text rendering, with task-focused apps and a unified API.

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    MolyPix.AI

    Returns layered designs from a one-sentence prompt, so the text and elements can be moved or rewritten in its editor.

    Prompt-based graphic design generator that outputs layered, editable posters, invitations, logos and images.

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    Recraft

    Creates editable vector artwork from a prompt and applies a reusable custom style built from your own reference images.

    An AI design tool that generates editable vectors, photoreal images and mockups in a consistent style.

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    FontVibe

    Renders the typed show name as finished lettering artwork and exports it as a PNG with the background removed.

    AI generator that turns typed text into finished lettering artwork in styles such as neon, glitch, fire and 3D.

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  9. Stage 9: Hosting and distribution

    The finished file is uploaded to a host that stores it, generates the RSS feed and submits the show to the listening apps, where each new episode then appears automatically.

    What AI does here
    Create the feed and a show website, submit to the main directories, report downloads, and generate an episode transcript on upload.
    What AI can’t do here
    Approve your show on someone else's platform. Directory review, artwork checks and content rules belong to each listening app, and the first submission can take a while.

    RSS.com

    Stores episodes, creates the show's RSS feed and website, and submits the show to the major podcast directories.

    Podcast hosting with automatic distribution, analytics, monetisation tools and AI-generated transcripts.

    From $15/moView tool

    Riverside

    Publishes episodes to the main listening apps from the recording studio and reports on audience and episode performance.

    Browser-based studio for recording, editing, live streaming and publishing podcasts and video with AI tools.

    View tool
  10. Stage 10: Clips and promotion

    Short captioned video clips are cut from each episode and posted over the following days, with a link back to the full show.

    What AI does here
    Find highlight moments from the transcript, reframe them vertically with captions, and schedule the clips and posts to social accounts.
    What AI can’t do here
    Know which thirty seconds will travel. The suggested highlights are a starting list, and a clip without context can misrepresent what a guest meant.

    OpusClip

    Finds highlight moments in a long video, adds animated captions, reframes for vertical formats and queues clips for posting.

    AI video clipping tool that cuts long videos into captioned short clips and posts them to social platforms.

    View tool

    Choppity

    Analyzes the transcript to find highlight moments, follows the speaker when cropping to vertical, and turns a searched quote into a clip.

    AI video editor that cuts podcasts and long videos into captioned short clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.

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    Hypefury

    Queues posts for several networks and can add an automatic first comment linking to your site when a post does well.

    Scheduling and automation tool for creators posting to LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.

    View tool

Realistic expectations

Guest consent and recording law
Tell guests that the call is being recorded and how it will be used, and get agreement before you start. Rules on recording conversations differ by country and state. Do not clone a guest's voice or generate words they did not say.
Music rights
A theme generated by an AI tool is only usable on a monetized show if the plan you hold grants commercial rights. Using a commercially released song as intro music generally needs a license, and a short excerpt is not automatically exempt; the rules vary by country.
Transcripts contain errors
Automatic transcripts misspell names, brands and technical terms and occasionally attribute a sentence to the wrong speaker. Correct them before publishing, especially if the transcript is quoted in show notes or posts.
Synthetic voices and disclosure
If parts of an episode are read by a synthetic voice, say so. Listeners tend to react badly to discovering it later, and some platforms have their own disclosure rules for AI-generated audio.

FAQs

Can AI edit my podcast for me?

It can do the mechanical part: removing noise, cutting filler words and long pauses, and letting you delete sections by editing a transcript. It does not decide which tangent to keep or whether the opening drags. Expect to save most of the clean-up time and still listen to the full episode once before it goes out.

Do I need a hosting service, or can I upload straight to the listening apps?

In most cases you need a host. Most listening apps read an RSS feed and do not store your audio themselves. A hosting service keeps the files, generates the feed and submits it to the directories, after which new episodes appear there automatically.

Can I use AI-generated music as my intro?

Often yes, with one check. Music generators tie commercial use to specific plans, and a podcast with ads or sponsors is likely to count as commercial use. Read the license terms for the plan you are on at the moment you generate the track, and keep a note of it.

Is it fine to make a podcast with AI voices instead of recording?

It is technically possible to generate a two-voice episode from a script. Whether it is a good idea depends on the purpose: it suits internal briefings or reading written material aloud, and suits personality-driven shows poorly. Label it as synthetic, and never use a real person's voice without consent.

How accurate are AI show notes?

Summaries and timestamps are usually close, but details slip: a number misheard, a name misspelled, a guest's point paraphrased into something they did not say. Treat generated notes as a draft and compare them with the transcript before publishing.

Related guides

Categories used in this guide

Tools are placed in a stage by an editor, from each tool’s own profile. The list grows as more profiles are published. All guides