How to Turn a Book into a Podcast with AI: My First Experiment

Ever explored AI for podcasting – can AI really turn a book into a podcast episode? With the advent of NotebookLM, that turns text into an audio conversation, I was curious. So, I decided to do a little experiment…

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Today, we’re continuing our journey into the possibilities and pitfalls of using AI as part of your business growth strategy, under our series theme: Accelerating with AI.

I wrote about AI for Podcasting in my book The AI Business Accelerator – released early in the year – Chapter 14 AI-POWERED CONTENT & COPYWRITING (page 101 in the print edition).

So as part of this Accelerating with AI series on The Leveraged Business Podcast, I wanted to run a little experiment.

I uploaded the preface and introduction of my book, The AI Business Accelerator, into Google’s NotebookLM and asked it to generate a podcast-style conversation.

What came back was a 17-minute dialogue between a male and female presenter. It wasn’t my voice. It wasn’t edited or polished. But it was a fascinating glimpse of what’s possible when we experiment with AI tools.

This time, I’ve done something a little different — an experiment. I was curious: can AI really create a podcast episode?

In The AI Business Accelerator (Chapter 14: AI-Powered Content & Copywriting), I wrote about the potential of AI for podcasting. So I decided to put it into practice. I uploaded the preface and introduction of the book into Google’s NotebookLM and asked it to generate a podcast-style conversation between two presenters.

The result? A 17-minute dialogue — not in my voice and not polished, but a fascinating glimpse into how AI can transform text into audio.

Why share it here? It kind of a bit fake, right?! But since this series is about accelerating with AI, I wanted you to experience what’s possible. Because one of the fastest ways to accelerate is by reimagining how we create and repurpose content.

From this single transcript, I could regenerate the voices in my own tone using Descript, refine the pacing, polish the edits, and end up with a finished podcast. That same raw material could also be repurposed into articles, social posts, or video clips. One input, many outputs — that’s leverage.

In this episode, I’m sharing the raw output exactly as it came from NotebookLM. It’s not perfect — but that’s deliberate. I want you to see what’s possible right now, and in future episodes, I’ll show you how far we can take it.

So as you listen, tune in on two levels. First, notice what you take from The AI Business Accelerator as it’s introduced in this unusual format. And second, think about your own business: how could you repurpose what you already have, accelerate your content creation, and scale your reach using AI?

Why This Experiment Matters

One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is finding ways to create content consistently while running a business. Writing, recording, editing, publishing — it all takes time.

That’s where AI can accelerate the process. By repurposing raw material (like a book chapter or even a transcript from a talk), AI tools can instantly generate new formats. In this case, I went from text on a page to a podcast-style audio conversation in minutes.

It’s a practical example of the principle I talk about in the book:

one input, many outputs

What Worked — and What Didn’t

The result had strengths and limitations, which was exactly what I hoped to explore.

✅ What worked:

The dialogue flowed logically and covered the key themes of the book.
It required no recording, no microphone setup, and no studio time.
It demonstrated the raw potential of AI for content repurposing.

⚠️ What didn’t work:

The voices lacked the nuance, warmth, and emphasis that human delivery brings.
The pacing was a little stiff and mechanical.
It wasn’t personalised with my own reflections or style.

Still, the key point is this: I went from static text to audio content with zero production time. That’s acceleration in action.

The Bigger Picture: Accelerating with AI

This is where the leverage becomes clear. From this single transcript, I could:

Use a tool like Descript to regenerate the conversation in my own voice.
Edit the flow into a polished, podcast-ready episode.
Slice sections into short audiograms for social media.
Expand parts into blog posts, articles, or LinkedIn newsletters.
Even adapt it into video clips for YouTube or Shorts.

That’s the power of AI for entrepreneurs: repurposing what you already have into multiple new assets.

A First Step, Not a Finished Product

This episode is Part One of the experiment. My plan is to take the same material and keep iterating — refining the conversation, layering in my own voice, and creating a suite of outputs that all flow from one input.

That’s the core message of The AI Business Accelerator: you don’t need more hours in the day. You need smarter leverage.

I’d love for you to reflect on this as you listen:

Where could AI help you repurpose content you already have?
What small experiment could you try — even if the first version isn’t perfect?
How much faster could you accelerate if you stopped waiting for “polished” and started testing with what’s possible now?

🎧 Listen to the full AI-generated podcast conversation here

So, that was the conversation — 17 minutes of AI-generated voices unpacking the opening of my book, The AI Business Accelerator. And they said some lovely things about me. I was blushing so much, and it was really quite funny.

It’s clear it wasn’t perfect. The flow was a little stiff, it was maybe too rhythmic, and of course the voices weren’t mine. But that’s also what makes it exciting, and fun. With just one experiment, the ideas from my book came alive in a completely different medium — no recording, no editing, no studio time.

This is what Accelerating with AI really looks like. It’s not just about saving time, it’s about multiplying possibilities and amplifying your reach. From this one transcript, I could regenerate the dialogue in my own voice with Descript, polish whole books into a finished podcast series, slice it into YouTube or LinkedIn clips, or expand it into lead magnets, articles, or substacks. One input, many outputs — that’s the leverage AI gives us.

As you think about your own business, I want to leave you with three questions:

Where could AI help you turn one piece of content into many?
What small experiments could you run — even if the first version isn’t polished — just to see what’s possible?
And if you stopped waiting for “perfect” and started creating with what you already have, how much faster could you accelerate your growth?

This was just an experiment. I hope you enjoyed it.

In future episodes of The Leveraged Business Podcast, we’ll keep exploring how to accelerate with AI — from refining this raw material to testing new tools and creating new leverage points.

Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next round. Ciao ciao for now.

Jay xox

📖 Explore more in my book, The AI Business Accelerator – on Amazon here.