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Posted on Aug 9

How I Built an AI Podcast Title Generator: From GPT Prompt to Production

#showdev #ai #webdev #productivity

Podcast titles matter more than most creators realize. A good title:

Hooks listeners in < 3 seconds
Contains searchable keywords
Sets the right expectation

But coming up with 50+ episode titles is exhausting. So I built a tool that generates them.

The Prompt Engineering

The core isn't complex — it's a carefully tuned prompt:

const SYSTEM_PROMPT = `You are a podcast title expert. Given a topic, generate 10 compelling podcast episode titles.

Rules:
- Keep titles under 60 characters
- Use power words that create curiosity
- Include the main keyword naturally
- Vary the formats: questions, statements, how-tos, lists
- Avoid clickbait — titles must deliver on their promise

Topic: {topic}
Tone: {tone}
Audience: {audience}`;

The key insight was constraining the output format. Without rules, GPT generates generic titles like "Episode 1: Getting Started." With constraints, you get titles like "Why Your Morning Routine is Broken (And How to Fix It)."

Architecture

The generator is a Next.js app with a serverless API route:

// app/api/generate/route.ts
export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const { topic, tone, audience } = await request.json();

  const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: "gpt-4o-mini",
    messages: [
      { role: "system", content: SYSTEM_PROMPT },
      { role: "user", content: `Topic: ${topic}\nTone: ${tone}\nAudience: ${audience}` }
    ],
    temperature: 0.8,
    max_tokens: 500
  });

  return Response.json({ titles: parseTitles(response.choices[0].message.content) });
}

Why gpt-4o-mini?

For title generation, I found that:

gpt-4o: Overkill, slower, more expensive
gpt-4o-mini: Perfect balance — fast, cheap, creative enough for titles
gpt-3.5-turbo: Sometimes generates boring/generic titles

UX Decisions

1. No Login Wall

The tool is completely free, no signup. I've seen too many "free tools" that require email before showing results. That kills conversion.

2. One-Click Regenerate

Podcasters iterate. The "Generate Again" button re-runs with the same inputs but different temperature seed. Usually takes 2-3 generations to find the perfect title.

3. Copy-to-Clipboard

Each title has a copy button. Small UX win, but it matters when you're testing 30 titles.

Results

The tool generates titles across different formats:

Questions: "Is Your Podcast Actually Growing?"
How-tos: "How I Grew to 10K Listeners in 90 Days"
Lists: "5 Podcast Mistakes That Kill Growth"
Contrarian: "Stop Posting on Social Media (Do This Instead)"

Try It

PodCrisp Title Generator — free, no signup, unlimited generations.

FTC Disclosure: This is my own tool. Free to use, no affiliate links or sponsorships.

What podcast topics do you struggle to title? Drop them in the comments and I'll generate some titles for you.

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