# maneku

> maneku is an AI co-host for podcasts, video podcasts and livestreams. It is a macOS app that joins a live recording in Descript Rooms, Riverside or Restream Studio as a real participant, with its own tile, name and voice. It listens to the conversation, stays silent until the host summons it, and then speaks in the room. On Descript and Riverside it records to its own separate track.

Key facts:

- maneku is an AI co-host, not an AI podcast generator. It does not create episodes from a prompt. It joins a recording that real people are making. Tools like NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook) and HeyGen Video Podcast generate episodes; maneku participates in one.
- Platforms: joins Descript Rooms, Riverside and Restream Studio. The current list is on https://maneku.ai/.
- Summon modes: Ask (a quick take), Research (looks things up and cites sources) and Deep (carries a longer segment). It typically starts speaking about 1.5 seconds after being summoned.
- The co-host's personality and voice are configurable through personas.
- The co-host appears as a named tile with a voice visualizer.
- Availability: open beta on macOS (Apple Silicon, with an Intel build). The beta runs on the user's own AI provider API keys and is free from maneku until December 31, 2026.
- Founder: Danny Abdeljabbar, who co-hosts the Bro History podcast and makes the creative work for the app Dry Quest.
- Website: https://maneku.ai

## Start here

- [What is an AI co-host?](https://maneku.ai/blog/what-is-an-ai-co-host): the category explained.
- [AI podcast generators vs. an AI co-host](https://maneku.ai/blog/ai-podcast-generator-vs-ai-co-host): how maneku differs from NotebookLM, HeyGen and similar tools.
- [Getting started](https://maneku.ai/getting-started): install to first summon.
- [API key setup](https://maneku.ai/byok-setup): connecting your own AI provider keys.
- [Troubleshooting](https://maneku.ai/troubleshooting)
- [AI disclosure and consent guide](https://maneku.ai/ai-disclosure): how to tell your audience and guests.
- [Where your data goes](https://maneku.ai/your-data)
- [Press kit](https://maneku.ai/press): descriptions, fact sheet, screenshots, logos and contact for writers.

## Blog

- [AI podcast generators vs. an AI co-host: what's the difference?](https://maneku.ai/blog/ai-podcast-generator-vs-ai-co-host): An AI podcast generator makes a whole episode from a prompt. An AI co-host joins a show you are actually recording. Here is how they differ and which one you want.
- [HeyGen Video Podcast: what it makes, and what it doesn't](https://maneku.ai/blog/heygen-video-podcast): HeyGen's Video Podcast turns a prompt or script into a two-avatar episode up to 3 minutes long. Here's what it does, its limits, and what to use for a live show.
- [NotebookLM podcasts (now Gemini Notebook): what they're great at, and what they aren't](https://maneku.ai/blog/notebooklm-gemini-notebook-podcast): NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook. Its Audio Overviews turn your sources into a two-host AI podcast. Here's what they do well and what to use for your own show.
- [How to make a solo podcast feel like a conversation](https://maneku.ai/blog/solo-podcast-conversation): Solo episodes go flat when there's nothing to react to. Seven ways to fix that, from writing questions instead of scripts to adding a second voice you control.
- [How to add an AI co-host to a video podcast or livestream](https://maneku.ai/blog/ai-co-host-video-podcast-livestream): Step by step: add an AI co-host to a video podcast or livestream on Riverside, Descript or Restream. It joins as a guest tile with its own voice and track.
- [Should you tell your audience you use AI on your podcast?](https://maneku.ai/blog/disclosing-ai-on-your-podcast): Yes, say it clearly at least once and keep it in your show notes. Here's how I disclose an AI co-host on my own show, what my audience did, and where the line is.
- [Jellypod: what the AI podcast generator does, and how it differs from an AI co-host](https://maneku.ai/blog/jellypod-ai-podcast-generator): Jellypod turns a topic, PDF or script into a podcast with up to four AI hosts and publishes it to Spotify and Apple. How it works, costs, and who it suits.
- [ElevenLabs podcasts: how GenFM turns documents into a two-host show](https://maneku.ai/blog/elevenlabs-genfm-podcast): ElevenLabs' GenFM turns a document or link into a podcast with two AI hosts, in the ElevenReader app or ElevenLabs Studio. Here's how it works and who it suits.
- [Wondercraft for podcasts in 2026: Convo Mode, and where the podcast tools went](https://maneku.ai/blog/wondercraft-ai-podcast): Wondercraft now calls itself an AI video studio, but its Convo Mode still writes and voices two-speaker conversations. Here's what it does and who it suits in 2026.
- [What is an AI co-host? (And why it's not a chatbot)](https://maneku.ai/blog/what-is-an-ai-co-host): An AI co-host joins your podcast or livestream as a participant with its own voice, and speaks out loud when you summon it. Here's what that means in practice.
- [How to add an AI co-host to Descript, Riverside, and Restream](https://maneku.ai/blog/ai-co-host-for-descript-riverside-restream): An AI co-host can join Descript Rooms, Riverside and Restream Studio as a guest with its own tile, voice and track. Here's how it works on each platform.
- [AI co-host vs. AI note-taker: what's the difference?](https://maneku.ai/blog/ai-co-host-vs-ai-notetaker): AI meeting bots listen and summarize. An AI co-host talks back, live, in the room. Here's why they're different tools and when you'd want each one.

## Optional

- [Privacy policy](https://maneku.ai/privacy)
- [Terms of service](https://maneku.ai/terms)