Audible is an Amazon owned subscription based audiobook company using data science to help understand their customers, and give audiobook recommendations based on a books defining characteristics instead of popularity or genre. Whereas other recommendation services give suggestions fitting into the same genre, Audible gives recommendations on the aspects and qualities you look for in books. So let’s say you mostly read action/adventure novels; any recommendation system can give you thousands of other popular titles that fit into this category. But Audible’s recommendation system with understand that you particularly enjoy reading fiction involving data science, between 250 and 500 pages long. Instead of giving you a bunch of action/adventure recommendations, you’ll be given data based science fiction, which is obviously a much narrower, and accurate segment.
Additionally, Audible is using data science to understand its customer base and modify features for a better customer service experience. They’re looking at the factors leading up to subscription cancelation, and seeing what they can do to improve the customer experience for subscribers who are “at risk.” And as a company owned by Amazon, Audible has the distinct advantage of a small office startup environment backed by resources from a leader in the e-commerce sector.
Audible’s data science team even includes one of our own students in the Masters of Data Science program, Israel Malkin. Working part time at Audible’s offices over in New Jersey when he’s not at CDS, Israel’s day-to-day activities include everything from modeling and simulation, to strategy and insight.
The students in the Masters of Data Science program had the opportunity to chat with Israel about his work, and future opportunities at Audible.
To find out more about Audible, visit: https://www.audible.com
By Jack Lowery