Amazon Is Using AI Podcast Hosts to Sell Adult Diapers and Fake Dog Poop
May 2, 2026
If you’re a big podcast fan who is rapidly running out of new things to listen to, would you be interested in an AI-generated podcast promoting “fake dog poop”? Thanks to Amazon’s new generative AI tool—it’s a real possibility.
In recent years, we’ve seen Google NotebookLM show how generative AI can be used to turn existing text content into podcast-style audio output, complete with AI hosts playing off each other, which has been marketed to consumers like college students studying for exams.
Now, Amazon is putting generative AI to the task of helping sell products and answer consumers’ questions. Amazon has now launched “Join the chat,” a new interactive feature that allows customers to ask AI hosts questions via text or voice while listening to an audio summary of a product.
Amazon says the AI hosts take the question, deliver an answer in real time, and then pick back up where they left off, enabling customers to move from listening to participating.
For example, users can ask, “Is this coffee maker better for a beginner or someone with barista experience?” and Amazon’s tech will deliver a response generated from product details, customer reviews, and other publicly available information, delivered via an AI voice.
Reactions on social media have been lukewarm, however. In one post on X, we can see Amazon’s AI hosts praising the “attention to detail” in a $7.99 listing for fake dog poop, calling its “chunky texture and authentic brown coloring a real showstopper,” though they said it might not be appropriate for “formal work environments.”
In another post highlighted by a Business Insider journalist, a British-sounding AI voice praised the “dual-action” approach of a brand of adult diaper cream, which the co-host described as “fascinating.”
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“Is this hell?” wrote a communications professional on X in response.
If you’re interested in giving the feature a go, you’ll need to open the Amazon Shopping app and then head to a product detail page.
Then you’ll need to tap the “Hear the highlights” button below the product image. Tap play to listen to a short audio conversation about key product features and who they might be appropriate for.
If you then want to interact with the AI hosts, you’ll need to tap the raised-hand icon to expand into the full-screen view. You can then either type your question or use the microphone icon to ask by voice. Amazon says you can minimize the player at any time and continue listening while you browse on Amazon.
“Join the chat” is rolling out to US customers on iOS and Android now. But though the retail giant says it’s available for “millions of products,” it’s not available for all of them, though it did provide examples of products where the feature is already up and running on its announcement page.
About Our Expert
I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.
I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.
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