Google Podcasts search might get a lot better soon

Do you ever remember a topic being discussed on a podcast, but can’t remember the episode’s name, or when it aired? 

Android Police reports that this will soon become less of a problem, as Google Podcasts has apparently started automatically transcribing entire podcast episodes, enabling users to search for things that have been actually said in an episode. 

According to the outlet, not every show on Podcasts is transcribed yet, and I haven’t found an official announcement for the feature (I’ve pinged Google about it and will update the article when we hear from them). But if Google makes this feature work for all shows, it’ll make the Podcasts app useful as a search tool even for people who aren’t into podcasts. 

Of course, not every word that’s said on a podcast is transcribed accurately, but if anyone has the tools to make this feature as usable as possible, it’s Google. 

Interestingly (and, possibly, unrelatedly), the BBC pulled its podcasts from Google Podcasts just yesterday. The broadcaster named Google’s directing users to its own app (instead of the BBC’s) as one of the main reasons for the move. 

Launched in June 2018, Google Podcasts is still only available on Android. You can download it for free from Google Play, here.