Pocket FM launches AI CoPilot for faster, engaging audio stories
India-based audio series platform Pocket FM is rapidly advancing its ambition to become the “Netflix of audio,” leveraging artificial intelligence to accelerate content creation and tailor narratives to diverse user preferences. The Lightspeed-backed startup is equipping its writers with a sophisticated AI toolset designed to enhance storytelling efficiency and engagement.
Pocket FM has already integrated AI for foundational tasks, such as voice generation using technologies like ElevenLabs, and has piloted AI assistance for writing and adaptation internally. Now, the company is rolling out these advanced AI tools, notably a system dubbed CoPilot, to all its writers. According to Rohan Nayak, Pocket FM’s founder, the primary goal is to significantly reduce the time required to complete episodes.
CoPilot offers a range of functionalities to streamline the creative process. It can transform narrative-based writing into dialogue-centric segments, perform “beat analysis” to sculpt stories for maximum engagement within specific audio genres, and provide basic chatbot-style writing aids like “shorten,” “expand,” and prompt-based text generation. The development of CoPilot involved analyzing thousands of hours of user engagement data to discern what captivates audiences in particular storylines and genres. This analysis informed features that suggest increasing character conflict, recommend more exciting episode endings, and even propose tags for background audio effects. The tool also automatically generates character bios, outlines relationships, and summarizes plot points across episodes, serving as a comprehensive reference for creators. Furthermore, CoPilot includes a review function that checks for plot consistency, grammar, and offers qualitative feedback. Underpinning CoPilot’s capabilities, Pocket FM is training smaller AI models to maintain story context, character arcs, and narrative consistency, while also using user signals to infuse more drama into storylines.
Beyond content creation, Pocket FM is employing AI for international expansion and localization. Its adaptation tools not only translate text but also culturally modify names and phrases to resonate with regional audiences. This suite, initially integrated into CoPilot, was trialed in Germany earlier this year after the company faced challenges engaging European users in the prior year. Nayak reports significant success from this trial, with monthly in-app revenue in Germany consistently increasing, surpassing $700,000 in June. This AI-driven approach has dramatically cut the time required for Pocket FM to establish a meaningful presence in new markets—from 12-18 months down to less than three months, allowing them to rapidly build the necessary content volume. In the German market, the tool boosted writer productivity by up to 50% in terms of show output, leading to more error-free drafts and higher user retention. In the U.S., AI-assisted series now account for 10% of total playtime, generating $7 million in revenue over the last 12 months while reducing production costs by two to three times.
The adoption of AI has enabled Pocket FM to scale content generation at an unprecedented rate, launching nearly 1,000 pilot shows monthly, with the sheer volume increasing the likelihood of producing hits. The company is also exploring new formats, including converting stories into comic strips via its Pocket Toons platform, and potentially venturing into video. With over $196 million in funding, Pocket FM is also experimenting with a micro-drama app. By next year, the company plans to release its own proprietary large language model (LLM), trained on its extensive show data, which will integrate all its AI functionalities, eliminating the need for numerous smaller, specialized models.
However, the rapid integration of AI has not been without its challenges. Pocket FM has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs involving employees and contractors over the past year. There have also been reports of diminishing returns for writers, and the company is currently facing lawsuits in California concerning employment and wage issues. A company representative stated that AI has had “minimal impact on our core creative community,” instead opening “new avenues to expand reach and output.”
Concerns also persist regarding content quality. While Pocket FM measures quality by retention rates, there’s a risk of “AI slop”—low-quality, AI-generated content—infiltrating the platform, potentially affecting user recommendations and the discovery of quality stories. Pocket FM counters that its AI-powered moderation framework reviews every piece of content for quality and originality, checking for duplication, copyright issues, and overall content health before publication. They assert that user engagement ultimately determines a show’s success, irrespective of AI assistance. Another potential pitfall is writers becoming overly reliant on AI. In Germany, AI is already contributing more content per show than human writers for certain titles. As Pocket FM rolls out more AI tools, the volume of AI-written content could rise, potentially increasing the pressure to churn out more shows. If user adoption doesn’t keep pace, average returns for writers could decline. While the company did not directly address questions about diminishing returns, a spokesperson emphasized that AI tools expedite editing and refinement based on audience feedback, allowing for targeted improvements rather than full rewrites. This approach, they suggest, “shifts the writer’s role towards editing, refining, and steering more productive output,” without necessarily diluting quality.