How do AI-generated Podcasts Influence the Opinions of Users on Debated Topics?

Abstract

As technology advances, people are increasingly exposed to vast amounts of information. When they browse through the information, their perspectives on certain topics—particularly controversial ones—can gradually shift, ultimately influencing their life decisions. These shifts can have profound societal implications, making it essential to examine the factors that shape people's opinions. In recent years, some research has explored how users form opinions on debated topics through web searches. However, these studies have been limited by their focus on traditional information presentation formats (such as Search Engine Results Pages) and the ignorance of other presentation modes (like podcasts). This paper aims to investigate an innovative presentation format: AI-generated podcasts. Using the Audio Overview feature of NotebookLM, we created podcasts based on SERP sources and generated summaries using the same AI model as a control. To comprehensively analyze how different presentation formats affect opinion changes on controversial topics, we recruited participants from Prolific and conducted a 3×3 between-subjects study. In this study, participants were exposed to content under varying conditions (different presentation medium and viewpoint bias). The results show that presentation modes have no significant differences in influencing attitude change, with all modes aligning in direction with the viewpoint bias. While attitude change varies significantly between different kinds of debated topics, the degree of controversiality does not affect how presentation modes influence these changes.