Google Podcasts is an app which works across iOS, Android, and on the web, allowing you to listen to podcasts and interact with them using the Google Assistant (voice) too.

Google's player is built into Android devices, with no download necessary. It makes listening to podcasts a lot easier on Android (75% of the world's smartphone users). 

Unlike other podcast apps which require you to submit your podcast for inclusion in their catalog, Google indexes your show for their collection from other platforms—much like it indexes search results on the web.

If you wish to speed up this process, you can also submit your podcast directly through Google Podcasts Manager. This website will also allow you to gather Google Podcasts-specific analytics.

It typically takes a few weeks after being available on other platforms, like Apple Podcasts, for your show to be indexed and searchable on Google Podcasts.

If you submit manually, it shouldn't be more than a few days for your show to be available on Google Podcasts.

Google Podcasts is different from Google Play Music, a service which is now discontinued.

Google News Briefing has a different submission process to Google Podcasts, read more about it here.