Figuring Out How Audio Overviews Are Structured

July 1, 2025 • Wietse Venema

I love the Audio Overviews in the Gemini app. These are podcast-style conversations based on documents. To start, upload a file in the Gemini app, and a button to generate the overview will appear.

I wondered how they were made and how I could start creating my own using the audio support in the Gemini 2.5 models.

So, I took a few of my favorite overviews, transcribed them, and fed the texts to Gemini to see if it could uncover the underlying structure. The results revealed the archetype that all these audio overviews share. It's a deconstruction process anyone can follow; here's what I did.

Transcribing

I started with getting a written version of a few Audio Overviews. I downloaded them as MP3 files. Since Gemini doesn't accept that format for this purpose, I used ffmpeg to convert them into MP4s (with a black screen).

As the next step, I prompted Gemini to "Convert this audio to a written transcript with speaker identification" and the results looked like this:

Speaker 1: It's everywhere, right? And uh, it can be pretty hard to cut through all the noise, you know. Today, we're doing a deep dive into something, well, genuinely groundbreaking, I think. Google Deep Mind's latest AI models, the Gemini 2.X family. Our mission here, really, is to unpack what's actually new, what these big advancements mean for AI's future, and, you know, why it matters to you.

Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. And we've uh, we've really dug into Google's own report on Gemini 2.X here. It's, well, it's packed with some fascinating stuff about how they're pushing things forward. We're talking about understanding really complex data, interacting with the world, just new ways of doing things.

Finding the Underlying Structure

Once I had a few transcripts, I asked Gemini in AI Studio to analyze the text and identify the structure.

What's the archetype of these conversations? I want to generate a framework to create any deep dive. There's a lot of structure to this conversation.

After that analysis, I asked it to summarize its findings into a framework. The result is a five-phase framework called “The Guided Deep Dive.” It uses two distinct speaker roles—the Anchor and the Expert—to guide the listener through a structured conversation, from a high-level overview to a detailed analysis and a final takeaway.

Here's the full break down:

Framework: The Guided Deep Dive

This framework provides a structured approach to creating in-depth, conversational content that is both informative and engaging. It is based on a two-person dialogue that guides the audience from a broad understanding to nuanced details and back to the big picture.

The Archetype & Core Roles

The structure relies on a dynamic between two distinct speaker roles. The key to this format's flexibility is that either speaker can perform these roles during the conversation.

  • The Anchor (The Audience Proxy): This person's primary function is to represent the listener. They guide the conversation, manage the flow, and ensure the information remains accessible and relevant.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Ask clarifying questions ("What does that mean for me?").
      • Simplify jargon ("So, it's basically...").
      • Pivot the conversation from technical details to practical applications.
      • Keep the structure on track.
  • The Expert (The Information Source): This person has done the "homework" and is the primary source of detailed information.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Provide specific data, facts, and nuanced analysis from the source material.
      • Explain complex concepts clearly.
      • Offer analogies and examples to aid understanding.

The Five-Phase Structure

A successful deep dive moves through five distinct phases, creating a clear narrative arc for the listener.

Phase 1: The Hook & Framing (The "Why You Should Care")

Objective: Grab the audience's attention and establish the value proposition.

  • 1.1. The Relatable Hook: Start by acknowledging a common problem or feeling the audience has about the topic.
  • 1.2. State the Mission: Clearly state what the deep dive will cover and what the listener will gain.
  • 1.3. Detail the Sources: Briefly describe the source material.

Phase 2: High-Level Overview (Setting the Stage)

Objective: Provide the foundational concepts needed to understand the details.

  • 2.1. Define the Landscape: Lay out the most important terms, components, or guiding principles first. This prevents the audience from getting lost later.
  • 2.2. Address Prerequisites: Discuss any foundational knowledge or baseline requirements needed before diving into the main topic (for example, "Before we start, you should be familiar with...").

Phase 3: The Core Analysis (The "How It Works")

Objective: Break down the main topic into digestible modules.

  • Structure: This is the longest phase and works best as a cycle of Question → Detail → Clarification.
  • Execution: Break your topic into logical sub-sections. For each sub-section:
    1. The Anchor asks a direct question to introduce the topic.
    2. The Expert provides the specific details, data, and core ideas.
    3. The Anchor clarifies, simplifies, or confirms understanding before moving to the next module.

Phase 4: Addressing the Implications (The "Now What?")

Objective: Connect the technical details to practical applications, consequences, or related concepts.

  • Execution: The Anchor should pose questions that pivot from "how it works" to "how to use it" or "what to watch out for."
    • Explore real-world applications.
    • Address common pitfalls or challenges.
    • Discuss nuanced concepts that apply across the topic.

Phase 5: The Synthesis & Takeaway (The "Big Picture")

Objective: Summarize the core message and leave the audience with a lasting thought.

  • 5.1. The "Zoom Out" Signal: The Anchor explicitly signals the conclusion (for example, "So, to bring it all together...").
  • 5.2. The Synthesized Takeaway: The Expert provides a concise, high-level summary of the topic's most important message.
  • 5.3. The Final Provocation: End not with a simple sign-off, but with a forward-looking, thought-provoking question or challenge for the audience. This makes the content memorable and encourages further reflection.