How do you feel about fully AI-generated audio?
We’re not asking about podcasts or music where the producer or artist used some AI tools to help with things like research, notes, effects or editing. Rather, we’re asking about content that is generated start-to-finish by an AI-tool, from script or composition, voices or instruments, to final product.
One thing we’ve just learned is that Canadians really dislike it. In fact, a supermajority say they dislike either AI-generated music or podcasts. This finding comes from the just-released second report of Audio on the Move 2026, Canada’s first holistic and comprehensive study of how and when Canadians aged 12+ are listening to audio media, surveying a nationally representative panel of 6,161 people.
The Signal Hill Insights team was prompted to investigate the question because the release of AI-generated podcasts and music has stirred up controversy this year, from one company releasing 3,000 AI podcasts a week, to record labels calling to disqualify “AI slop songs” from global charts. While much of the pushback is coming from the industry itself, including podcasters and musicians, we wanted to understand if the apparent glut of supply is actually satisfying some kind of demand.
Only 1-in-25 Canadian consumers said they like fully AI-generated podcasts. At best, that’s about 1.4 million people 12 years and older, which doesn’t seem like a very big market, especially in a nation of 41.8 million. By contrast, 17 times as many say they dislike this content – about 24.5 million.
The proportional sentiment for AI-generated music is similar. Slightly more – 5% – like it, and slightly fewer – 65% – dislike it.
Overall, younger consumers are a little bit more accepting of AI-generated audio content. 8% of Canadian consumers aged 12 – 17 said they like AI podcasts and 13% said they like AI music. Half still dislike either.
But is this anti-AI sentiment unique for music? In a word, no.
Further setting the scene, the Ipsos AI Monitor 2026 study shows Canada ranking at the bottom of a list of 32 countries for
excitement over products and services using AI, and at the top of the list for saying those same services make them nervous.
So, to help us level-set audio’s position, Audio on the Move also asked respondents their opinion on fully AI-generated social media images and videos, as well as online articles, blogs and news. While slightly more said they like AI-generated memes and images on social media – 7% – the overall sentiment is negative across media types, from the 60% who dislike AI social images to the 69% who dislike online news articles written by AI.
The Largest Share of Audio Is Consumed at Home, AM/FM Still Leads In-Car
The second Audio on the Move report also examines where Canadians are listening to audio. The majority of listening time yesterday – 59% – happens at home. Just under a quarter – 24% – is in the car. Compared to that, half as much time is spent listening at work or school.
AM/FM radio still leads that in-car listening, occupying 46% of minutes. But streaming is nipping at radio’s heels. Music on YouTube and streaming music services combined now claim 38% of time in-car.
YouTube Is an Emerging Music Destination, Even In-Car
By itself, music on YouTube accounts for 11% of in-car listening time yesterday, coming in third behind AM/FM and other streaming services.
Inclusion of YouTube for in-car listening might raise some eyebrows. Most would be concerned about people watching YouTube videos while driving. But, keep in mind that we’re talking about listening. Also, we’re considering regular YouTube and YouTube music to be in the same bucket, because our research in studies like the Canadian Podcast Listener indicates that consumers don’t easily distinguish between the services.
Moreover, as we’ve seen in the first report from AOTM and the Canadian Podcast Listener 2025, YouTube is becoming a top destination for audio. The platform now places second for time spent with ad-supported audio in Canada, and is used by 40% of monthly podcast consumers for their podcasts.
Practically speaking, one can use YouTube Music the same way as Spotify or Apple Music, and much of the music available on YouTube is audio-first, in that the visual may be just a static image or cover art, or is just a placeholder. It’s not meant to be watched. The overarching trend is that consumers seem to care less about the platform than the ability to find the content they want, and there’s an enormous supply of music uploaded to YouTube, much of it otherwise unavailable elsewhere.
Consumers’ growing use of YouTube for audio is just one example of how preferences and listening behaviour continue to shift in ways that wouldn’t have been predicted even just a few years ago. That’s why it’s important to take a broad, comprehensive and open-minded approach to mapping this frontier, as we are doing with Audio on the Move. This allows us to identify emerging trends, as they move from the margins into the mainstream, giving the audio industry an opportunity to prepare, not just react.
The first and second Audio on the Move reports are available with a single subscription, which includes full data tables.
