Amazon Music makes it easier to navigate podcasts with synced transcripts

You can now jump right to key moments in a podcast.

What you need to know

• Amazon Music has launched synced transcripts on podcasts for users in the United States.
• Synced transcripts allow you to skip to specific parts of a podcast or go back to a portion you've missed.
• The new feature is available on both iOS and Android for select podcasts.

Amazon Music has introduced synchronized transcripts for select podcasts in the U.S., making it easier to navigate an episode by scrolling through the transcript.

Starting today, you can easily find specific spots of a podcast by scrolling through the transcript in order to read the segments you've missed or seek ahead in an episode. Transcripts are displayed in paragraph form, with words highlighted as they are spoken by the host.

When you tap on a line in the transcript, the playback jumps to that specific point in the podcast. You can also see a preview of the later part of an episode as you move the cursor along. The experience is similar to thumbnail previews when you scrub through a video.

For the time being, the feature is only available for select Amazon Original and Wondery podcasts such as SmartLess, Dr. Death, and Uncommon Ground With Van Jones. It will also be available on other shows such as My Favorite Murder, Crime Junkie, Modern Love, This American Life, and others. Transcripts for select shows from American Public Media, audiochuck, Cadence13, The New York Times, and Stitcher will also be available.

Amazon claims it is the first music service to offer synchronized podcast transcripts. Spotify began testing auto-generated transcripts earlier this year, but the experience differs from Amazon Music's synced transcripts.

Synced transcription is Amazon Music's first podcast-focused feature since podcasts were introduced last year. It's now available on iOS devices and the best Android phones. For Amazon Music customers with hearing impairments, it's a handy accessibility tool that should make it easier to follow along with podcasts.