Google has announced that sometime next year it will shut down its standalone podcasts app, Google Podcasts. With the end of the year now closing in, the company today is launching a migration tool that will let users in the United States carry their current podcast subscriptions over to YouTube Music, which will be Google's new home for podcasts.

Export subscriptions will be enough time available since the official de-listing of Google Podcasts takes place only in April 2024. The current tool supports US users only. According to Google, it "will become available across other markets soon".

The company also provided details on the schedule of terminating the Google Podcasts app. It indicates that listeners in the United States will continue accessing their podcasts in the app up until March 2024. Although the app is officially being phased out in April, users will be allowed to migrate or export their subscriptions up until July 2024.

The new migration tool will appear in the app, in the coming weeks, as a banner at the top of the screen. Instructions on how to use this tool will also appear on Google's support site. For those not looking to move to YouTube Music, an option to export subscriptions to an OPML file will also be provided. This file can then be uploaded into any other third-party podcast app that also allows for uploads.

Google has been working towards making YouTube more of a destination for podcasts for a while now, launching a dedicated podcasts homepage last year, and announcing plans this February to bring podcasts to YouTube Music — the company's Spotify and Apple Music rival.

The move will further unify Google's plays in the audio streaming sector by allowing it to combine listenership that is today fragmented across multiple apps. The company had already shut down Google Play Music years ago, but it took longer to tackle podcasts.

All the users have to do in order to migrate by using the tool is to click on the "Export Subscriptions" at the top of their screen and tap "Export to YouTube Music" after selecting the option. If it does not have the app installed, it will invite the user to install it once the disclosure is read; they will then tap on "Continue" to proceed with the migration.

According to YouTube, most popular podcasts are already on the site, including New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce and Murder, Mystery & Makeup with Bailey Sarian.

But now, listeners will also be able to add shows directly to their YouTube Music library via the podcast's RSS feed. YouTube itself is aiming to support RSS uploads for podcasters, the company had previously said.

Earlier, the company had added podcast "shelves" in the app, which made podcasts easily accessible, as well as features like adding RSS feeds, automatic downloads, and a listening experience where you can jump back in wherever you left off. It will add a "mark as listened" feature later as well.