Show prep and research

Show prep is the work before you press record: researching a guest, outlining the episode, drafting questions and gathering facts. General AI assistants help podcasters with this, from summarizing a guest's recent writing to suggesting a structure for a solo episode.

Use them as a fast research assistant, then check everything. Chat assistants can state wrong facts with confidence, mix up people with similar names or invent a quote. A search tool that cites its sources is more useful for background, because you can open the source and confirm it. Never put a fact on air that you have only from an AI answer.

Featured AI podcast tools: show prep and research

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4 AI podcast tools in show prep and research

ChatGPT

by OpenAI

OpenAI's chat assistant, useful for outlining episodes, drafting interview questions and summarizing research.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app
  • Developer API

Claude

by Anthropic

Anthropic's assistant, often used to read long documents, prepare research briefs and draft show outlines.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app
  • Developer API

Perplexity

by Perplexity AI

AI search engine that answers with citations, handy for quick guest and topic background you can check at the source.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app
  • Developer API

Notion

Workspace for show planning, guest pipelines and episode calendars, with AI built in for drafting and summaries.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app
  • Developer API

Keep a simple research file for each guest with sources you have checked, their preferred name and pronunciation, the topics they agreed to discuss and anything they asked you to avoid. An assistant can help you summarize that file into a short brief before the call. Share the brief with your cohost so you do not ask the same question twice. After the episode, add what you learned to the file, including any corrections, so the next interview with the same guest starts from facts you have already checked. Do not paste private messages from guests into a public chatbot, and turn off chat history or training settings where a tool offers them.

They are good at turning your own notes into a running order, suggesting follow-up questions, and drafting an intro you then rewrite in your voice. A shared workspace keeps guest lists, research and episode plans in one place for a small team.

Questions about show prep and research

Can AI research my guests for me?

It can gather background quickly, but it makes mistakes about people. Check every fact at the original source before you use it in an interview.

Which tool is best for fact-finding?

One that cites its sources, so you can open them. Use chat assistants for drafting and structure rather than as the only source of facts.

Should AI write my interview questions?

It can suggest a list to start from. The best questions usually come from your own reading and your audience, so edit the list heavily.

Can I feed a guest's book or articles into an assistant?

You can summarize material you have legal access to. Check the tool's terms on how uploaded content is stored and used, and avoid uploading anything a guest shared with you in confidence.

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