Bill Simmons' Ringer drops ChatGPT deal after listener backlash

Nov 13, 2026
The Spotify-owned podcast network ended its OpenAI partnership after hosts and fans objected to AI-built segments and ChatGPT ads.

The Ringer, the Spotify-owned podcast network led by Bill Simmons, has cancelled its partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT after a backlash from listeners, Bloomberg reported, according to Quartz.

The Ringer began running segments built on AI research on some shows in the spring. "This time we learned almost immediately that those segments weren't a fit for us; our audience just didn't like them," Simmons told Bloomberg. Criticism grew in August after Ringer hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins said on another podcast that they disliked Simmons promoting ChatGPT on air, including asking it to channel the late critic Roger Ebert, and reading ChatGPT ads. Clips of the exchange spread widely on social media.

Other hosts have faced similar reactions. "Crime Junkie" host Ashley Flowers deleted a post this week about using AI to research midterm candidates after angry comments.

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