By Amara Osei

Spotify’s Ringer podcast network dropped its ChatGPT deal after an August fan backlash, while OpenAI’s estimated three-month podcast advertising spend rose more than 600% year on year to $11.2 million.

Bill Simmons told Bloomberg in a statement that the Ringer began running segments built on artificial intelligence (AI) research on two shows in spring, following action by rival podcasters and the NFL. “This time we learned almost immediately that those segments weren’t a fit for us — our audience just didn’t like them,” he said.

The reversal moved AI promotion from an editorial experiment to a reputational dispute. The distinction matters because original Ringer segments placed Simmons, rather than a separate sponsor, at the center of the promotion.

Why did the Ringer reverse course?

Backlash built in August, according to Bloomberg. Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, hosts of “The Big Picture,” appeared on a podcast hosted by Sam Fragoso, who asked how they felt about Simmons promoting ChatGPT on air.

Simmons had instructed ChatGPT to channel the late film critic Roger Ebert and predict his opinion of a movie. He had also read advertisements for ChatGPT on the Ringer’s shows.

Fennessey, who co-hosts “The Rewatchables” with Simmons, said he had raised the issue with his boss and did not like the promotion. Dobbins said she had not known about the advertisements. “Oh, brother,” she said. “That’s not my decision level.”

Fragoso’s question converted an internal objection into a public exchange between Ringer presenters. Fennessey had already raised his concerns with his boss, while Dobbins said the advertisements fell outside her authority; the exchange therefore made responsibility for the promotion a visible internal decision.

Fans cut the exchange into short clips that spread widely across social media, according to Bloomberg. The Ringer’s cancellation came sometime afterward, turning an internal programming dispute into a visible backlash against AI-led podcasting.

How far did the backlash extend?

Other podcast hosts have encountered similar reactions, according to Bloomberg. Ashley Flowers, host of “Crime Junkie,” deleted an Instagram post “this week” after describing her use of AI to investigate candidates in the midterm elections.

Angry comments followed Flowers’s post. In May, self-help host Mel Robbins published a post saying she had used Microsoft Copilot to improve her family’s finances; commenters reacted angrily again.

Robbins added a response beneath her own post urging followers to be “thoughtful” about the details they hand to AI. The dispute moved from programming choices to disclosure: Flowers faced objections over election research, while Robbins faced objections after linking family financial planning to Copilot.

Not every host faced resistance. Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Ben Shapiro have delivered sponsor spots for Perplexity AI without much listener objection, and “The Rest Is History” advertises Anthropic’s Claude, Bloomberg reported.

The contrasting formats matter for media buyers. The Ringer placed ChatGPT inside original programming and Simmons’s on-air commentary; Rogan, Von and Shapiro read Perplexity sponsor spots, while “The Rest Is History” carries Claude’s message. Bloomberg reported no comparable resistance to those campaigns.

How much are AI companies spending on podcasts?

AI companies increased podcast spending, according to Bloomberg, which cited the advertising measurement service Podscribe. OpenAI was estimated to have spent $11.2 million during the preceding three months, representing growth of more than 600% from a year earlier.

Anthropic was estimated to have committed $2 million in the same three-month window, up 93% from a year earlier. Together, the two companies represented only a small share of a podcast advertising market worth $2.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.

High growth did not translate into market dominance. Even with OpenAI’s estimated $11.2 million and Anthropic’s $2 million in the same period, their combined presence remained small within the $2.9 billion market. The figures present a trade-off for podcast platforms: AI companies can scale sponsorship quickly, but host credibility and audience tolerance can determine whether campaigns gain acceptance.