How to add an AI co-host to Descript, Riverside, and Restream
by Danny Abdeljabbar, founder of manekuThe short answer
maneku joins your Descript Room, Riverside studio or Restream Studio through the same link you'd send a remote guest. It appears as its own tile with its own name and voice, and speaks when you summon it. On Descript and Riverside it records to its own separate track. On Restream it speaks on the stream and can post in the live chat.
If you record a podcast or run a livestream, you probably already have a tool you like: Descript Rooms, Riverside or Restream Studio. The question isn't whether to switch. It's whether you can add an AI co-host to the room you already use without rebuilding your workflow.
That's the model I built maneku around. It's a Mac app that joins your room as a guest, the same way a remote co-host would join from their laptop. Here's how it works on each platform. For a full walkthrough from install to first summon, see how to add an AI co-host to a video podcast or livestream.
The general idea
Every modern recording platform works the same way. You create a room, you get a link, and guests use that link to join. maneku uses exactly that path. You paste your room's link into the app, the co-host joins as a participant, and from there it has what it needs:
- It hears the room audio, so it can follow the conversation.
- It appears as its own tile with its own name.
- It speaks with a real voice when you summon it.
- On multitrack platforms, it records as its own separate track.
Descript Rooms
Descript is built for podcasters who edit in Descript afterwards, so the co-host's separate track matters a lot here. maneku joins your Descript Room as a guest, and because Descript captures each participant on their own, the AI's voice lands as its own track in your project. In the edit you can level it, trim its responses or cut a summon entirely. It's just another track.
Riverside
Riverside is popular for high quality remote recording. maneku joins your Riverside studio with its own tile and voice, keeps track of who's speaking so its transcript knows who said what, and records as a separate track alongside your human guests. On interview shows, it can sit in as a researcher or a third voice.
Restream
Restream Studio is built for going live to YouTube, Twitch and other platforms at once. maneku joins your Restream Studio as a guest and can do something the recording platforms can't: post in the live chat. While it's talking on the stream, it can drop a link or a source into chat for your viewers.
Record somewhere else?
Tell us where when you sign up. Where people record is what decides which platform I add next.
Questions people ask
Does the AI co-host record as a separate track?
On Descript and Riverside, yes. It lands as its own track, so you can level it, trim it or cut it like any other guest.
Can it post links in my livestream chat?
On Restream Studio, yes. It can drop a link or a cited source into the live chat while it talks on the stream.
Do I have to switch recording platforms?
No. That's the point. It joins the room you already use, through the same link your guests get.
Danny Abdeljabbar
I built maneku. I also make all the artwork and marketing for Dry Quest, an app I developed with my wife, and I'm usually building a smaller app or two on the side. I co-host the Bro History podcast, and by day I work in revenue operations. Before all of this, I was an artist across a lot of mediums, including music and audio.
Want a co-host in your next recording?
maneku is in open beta on macOS. It joins Descript, Riverside and Restream as a real participant.
Get early access