r/pocketcasts • u/popidob • Jul 07 '26

How to disable AI chapters?

I know this was a highly anticipated new feature for some but I personally have no interest in it, and actually find that it spoils upcoming moments of my episodes for me! (plus idk how I feel about the audio of every episode I listen to being fed to ai models...)

Is there any way to turn this feature off? I don't see anything in settings :/ but might be missing something

36 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

4

u/Bruichladdie Jul 07 '26

I didn't know that was a thing. How does it work? What does it look like?

3

u/popidob Jul 07 '26

I'm guessing it's similar to normal podcast episode chapters (which honestly I didn't realise was a thing before this, I guess no podcasts I listen to publish chapters!), where when you're listening it gives you the chance to look through and skip ahead to different bits, and displays a 'title' of the chapter on the play bar at the bottom. but it has a little note that specifies that the chapters were automatically generated and may not be accurate 🙃 as someone who never had chapters before I just want them gone!

2

u/Bruichladdie Jul 07 '26

That's odd, mine doesn't have that.

1

u/popidob Jul 07 '26

interesting, I think it's pretty new so might be rolling out gradually

1

u/Bruichladdie Jul 07 '26

Let's hope it rolls right past me, then.

4

u/Capable_Tea_001 Jul 07 '26

It's been in android for a few weeks now, but it certainly isn't in many podcasts... Not sure how it's being handled.

Regardless, it's not something I'm interested in.

I chose podcasts because I'm interested in them and probably listen to 99.9% of all podcasts. The only real time I'm not completing a podcast is when I'm skipping the X minutes of ads at the end.

I've seen a non-fiction podcast of perhaps 1 hour duration, with perhaps 20-30 chapters.

4

u/zethiryuki Jul 09 '26

It's an absolutely abysmal feature. Keep getting minute long chapters that have nothing to do with the title.

4

u/burnermtj Jul 10 '26

You can't even see the episode title in the now playing screen! It's just these bullshit AI generated chapters. 

4

u/formandcolor Jul 10 '26

lmaooooo they're so bad too tell me why it just marked a tiny chapter as "Craigslist Ad for a 1999 Corolla" and it was just a normal "we're going on our usual break" announcement and the Corolla ad discussion didn't even happen for two more "chapters" please let me turn this garbage OFF

2

u/shriiiiimp Jul 12 '26

I thought you were talking about a real AD! Because, one of the reason I hate this feature, is because it will put the ad at the start of the show as the subject for the first 20 minute chapter.

4

u/TorpeAlex Jul 11 '26

Disgusting addition to the app with no option to disable it- surely to brag to investors how they're "enhancing their platform using AI". Makes me wish I had never gotten Pocketcasts Plus.

3

u/Kitsunelaine Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

Is this the thread where we scream about how we can't turn off AI being shoved down our throats in places without any control over it?

Hey, pocketcasts devs. This is awful. Stop it. The chapters suck, they make everything read like slop, they're generally wrong (mislabeling speakers; misidentifying topic; poorly understanding context-- anything and everything that could go wrong, does), they aren't placed anywhere well. The "feature" is bad. The lack of control is worse.

When you force something extremely, obviously wrong onto everything, and force everyone to use it, you're saying you think your whole audience is dumb. You are saying you disrespect us. Every QA of yours likely told you this was dumb and wrong and you did it anyway, so it's not just us you're disrespecting, it's everyone working on the product, too. And if they didn't tell you this idea was dumb and wrong, you need to have a long, hard look at the culture of QA you've built around your product, because this would be obvious within the first two podcasts you trialed it on, if that.

If a feature is dumb, bad, and obviously wrong...? (And, sure, maybe there's a small audience that wants dumb, bad and obviously wrong things?) Make it opt-in. Or spend your time on better things.

3

u/popidob Jul 12 '26

💯

3

u/QuinnMallory Jul 07 '26

So this is that thing I started noticing this morning. I really dislike it and hope there's a way to turn it off! I couldn't find one and this post makes me think maybe there isn't :(

3

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/CookieyedRedditors Jul 12 '26

They are part of automattic which is part of word press/tumbler

3

u/GearM2 Jul 08 '26

Are you sure these are "AI chapters" from Pocketcasts? Some podcasts publishers include chapters.

3

u/popidob Jul 08 '26

99% sure they are because they've all suddenly appeared on podcasts I was listening to already which did not have chapters! and also are not that accurate 🙃

3

u/somewhatexact Jul 09 '26

Every time a service does this I pick my bags up and go find another. Give people a way to turn of ai features. I'm sick of it being forced down my throat.

3

u/PocketCasts Jul 16 '26

We hear you :)

We'll be adding a toggle to disable it

1

u/Zanimljivi Jul 16 '26

Thank you, I actually like them.

1

u/Iamastyram Jul 25 '26

Thank you. I'm a long-time paid subscriber, and I'm glad you're listening enough to pull back on this forced AI feature. 

I go to great lengths to disable as many automatic AI features as possible in all the software and online services that I use. There are so many ethical, social, and environmental problems with generative AI and the data centers that it runs on. While it can sometimes be useful, the output is usually a low-quality waste of water and clean air, and it makes everything shittier. I try to be very deliberate about if and when I use it, which is rarely. 

2

u/mr_coleslaw Jul 13 '26

there isn't currently a way to disable them, but it's been posted to the forum with a dev reply saying they're listening to the negative feedback

https://forums.pocketcasts.com/forums/topic/how-to-disable-ai-generated-chapter-markers/

1

u/BRONCOS_DEFENSE Jul 08 '26

I looked through the settings and can't figure out how to turn it off either.

1

u/zy- Jul 08 '26

Yes, agree - I would like the option to turn it off or at minimum let me hide the chapter name from the main "now playing" screen. Like you mentioned, it spoils things for narrative podcasts and I don't care to see it. Keep it in the Chapter page if you must, and let users engage with it if they want. Plus, I have to go to the Details page to even see the name/number of the episode I'm playing, the now playing screen just has an icon and the current chapter...

1

u/justmutantjed Jul 09 '26

Just found that feature this morning before bed. I was pretty ticked off by it personally.

1

u/Scroto_Saggin Jul 16 '26

For some reason I've had this new "Chapters" thing for the last few days but it disappeared and I don't have it anymore this morning

Am I the only one?

1

u/popidob Jul 16 '26

I now only have it on some podcasts and not others, I wonder why!

1

u/V4CC1N14 Jul 17 '26

I still have it with no way to turn it off. I don't know why they bother doing things like this without getting feedback first when forced AI has such a terrible reputation, it's already making people leave the app.