Digital audio technology and advertising company Triton Digital is partnering with ekoz.ai to bring AI-generated host-read podcast ads to Spreaker, a podcast hosting, creation and monetization platform, for the first time.

Under the new agreement, marketers will be able to plan, buy and distribute advertising programmatically across a variety of audio programs on Spreaker, which includes podcasts created by Triton Digital’s parent company, iHeartMedia.

Ekoz.ai technology enables podcast hosts to clone their voice samples and make their ad inventory available to marketers. The platform’s AI capabilities construct scripts based on advertisers’ talking points, personalize them for each host and produce advertising in the presenter’s voice. The adverts are then approved and sent to the host’s program, preserving authenticity while decreasing manual workload, according to the company.

Triton Digital said the partnership was launched through private marketplace agreements with selected Spreaker podcasts and is already delivering millions of impressions to the marketplace.

The company is boosting its audio offering after partnering with data collaboration platform Optable in February. The collaboration enables audio publishers to securely manage and deploy first-party identity data, improving audience targeting and inventory monetization. Publishers can use Optable’s platform to gain insights from user data and fill ad space through Triton Digital’s Supply-Side Platform (SSP).

According to Triton’s recent Canadian Podcast Report, podcast listening in Canada is growing, with 39% of the population now tuning in. This represents a three percentage point increase from the previous year. On average, Canadians listen to 3.9 podcasts and 8.4 episodes per week, up from 3.5 podcasts and 8.2 episodes in 2023. The report also found that YouTube has become the leading platform for podcast consumption, surpassing Spotify and Apple Podcasts.