Rumors have been circulating online for some time that Spotify was planning to launch an AI-powered playlist feature. Now, the Sweden-headquartered music streaming service has unveiled that feature – at least in a few markets.
The new AI Playlist tool is rolling out in beta form to Spotify Premium subscribers on Android and iOS devices in the UK and Australia, the company announced in a statement on Sunday (April 7).
The tool will enable users to enter a text prompt from which the AI Playlist will generate music suggestions. For instance, users will be able to type in prompts along the lines of “an indie folk playlist to give my brain a big warm hug,” “relaxing music to tide me over during allergy season,” or “a playlist that makes me feel like the main character.”
Users will be able to preview and delete the tracks offered by AI Playlist, and refine their playlist with additional prompts (“more pop” or “less upbeat”).
No word yet on when the feature will be available to users outside the UK and Australia, but Spotify says it’s still beta-testing the tool and will “contin[ue] to iterate on this new feature to best serve our listeners.”
To activate the AI Playlist, UK and Australian users can select “Your Library” at the bottom-right corner of the screen on their mobile Spotify app, tap the “+” button and select “AI Playlist.”
“Just like that, Spotify will help you curate a personalized playlist based on the tracks, artists, and genres we think you’ll like,” the company said in its announcement.
“While it’s designed to be fun, the tool is still in beta and won’t produce results for non-music-related prompts, like current events or specific brands. We also have measures in place around prompts that are offensive – so please prompt responsibly!”
“I think you’re going to see a lot more of that, where we can contextualize and personalize content across the entire platform to make it more accessible.”
Daniel Ek, Spotify
AI Playlist is one of a number of artificial intelligence-powered features that Spotify has been working on. In February 2023, the streaming platform launched an AI-powered personalized DJ feature, initially in the US and Canada, before rolling it out globally in August of last year.
The company is also developing a “groundbreaking” AI voice translation tool that will make podcasts available in numerous languages, all in the podcaster’s own voice.
During an earnings call last summer, CEO Daniel Ek said AI can improve the user experience on Spotify, the advertiser experience and the company’s performance on the back end.
AI at Spotify is “going to be massive, and you can see some of those improvements already paying off very nicely [with] higher engagement and higher retention, which then lowers churn,’ Ek said.
“This is a trend that’s been going on now for many years [and] I still think that there’s quite a lot that we can do there that will improve engagement and retention over time.”
AI DJ has seen “strong consumer interactions,” Ek said, and “I think you’re going to see a lot more of that, where we can contextualize and personalize content across the entire platform to make it more accessible.”
Ek said advertisers will be able to drive greater value from their ads on Spotify thanks to AI tech as well.
“By using generative AI and AR tools here, I think you’re going to be able to see that we can significantly reduce the cost that it takes for advertisers to develop new ad formats, and that obviously means that you, as an advertiser, instead of having one ad, you can imagine having thousands and [having them] tested across the Spotify networks,” Ek said.
Ek added that, on the backend, AI will enable Spotify to be a lot more efficient, “which will drive more value for all stakeholders – consumers, creators and Spotify itself.”Music Business Worldwide
