Marketers are listening. At last, podcasting is a thing at Advertising Week.

Finally it’s happening. Advertisers and marketers are waking up to the great potential of podcasting.

At this week’s Advertising Week conference in New York, there’s interest, even excitement, about audio– both music and speech. Unlike previous years, when our industry was virtually ignored at this annual event, an entire morning of panel sessions has been devoted to podcasts and audio.

“We view voice as the natural next step in technology’s future,” said Julia Chen Davidson, Head of Google’s Partner Marketing this week, at the well-attended Future of Audio Summit. “It’s still very early in the adoption curve.”

“Voice is the new touch,” enthused Pandora’s VP of Ad Innovation Strategy, Claire Fanning.

Podcasting is along for ride, with Anna Bager of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) forecasting 110% growth in annual U.S. podcast advertising revenue until 2020. Many podcast listeners like the advertising they hear “and see it as a service,” she told the audience of marketing, brand and ad professionals.

“These strong numbers speak to advertisers’ increasing recognition that podcasts provide a powerful platform for reaching and engaging audiences,” said Bager in a news release. They are “tapping into the medium’s highly engaged audience.”

Interest in podcasting is enhanced by three recent broader consumer/tech trends:

– Excitement about new research and development of Artificial Intelligence and voice-activated search.

– The explosive growth in sales and adoption of smart speakers.

– Innovation and expansion of voice-assisted technology (VAT) in cars and trucks.

Dramatic changes in automotive center stacks and consoles “is going to radically change media consumption,” Tom Webster, Senior Vice President of Edison Research told a breakout session at Advertising Week. “VAT will cause an incredible spike in podcast listening.”

And yet there are obstacles, despite steady gains in overall Podcast listening.

At Podcast Movement last July, Webster, Amplifi Media’s Steve Goldstein and others righty voiced concern about problems with discovery. While most Americans are aware of podcasting, many find it difficult to find shows, or even understand how to download or subscribe to podcasts.

One promising initiative discussed at Advertising Week is Pandora’s soon-to-be-launched Podcast Genome Project, designed our help listeners find shows based on what’s being discussed. Panelist Lizzie Widhelm of Pandora told a session that its Genome will be able to recommend other podcasts based on the content of an episode.

“There will soon be a time when our podcasts will find us, instead of the other way around,” says the online music and speech radio company’s Chief Product Officer, Chris Phillips. “If we know you care about a particular topic, we can find the podcast (the needle in a haystack), and put it in front of you.”

This project along with growth in voice search and AI could prove to be next big audience accelerator for podcasters.

Richard Davies is a podcast host, producer, consultant, and media coach. He runs DaviesContent.