Spotify is pushing personalization into a new era with the debut of Prompted playlistsan AI-powered tool that allows listeners to type a prompt in natural language and instantly generate a custom soundtrack. The feature, now in beta for premium users in New Zealand, reflects a significant shift in how audiences can shape their listening experience, not just through passive habits but through direct instruction.
Prompted playlists, unveiled on December 10th, let users describe exactly what they want to hear. That can mean the broad — a playlist for rainy afternoons, or the hyper-specific, like “my top artists from the last five years, but only deep cuts I haven’t heard yet,” or “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run, and relax to relaxing tunes for a cool-down.” Spotify’s AI then compiles a playlist that reflects both that text prompt’s description and individual taste patterns. This means that the algorithm has access to the individual’s entire listening history “all the way back to day one” weaving together personal tastes and cultural context.
Where previous functions such as Discover Weekly and Drop radar Predicting listeners’ tastes, Prompt Playlists hands over the wheel. Spotify’s latest test expands on previous AI playlist tools by letting listeners punch in a range of parameters, update playlists on a daily or weekly cadence, refine the output simply by editing their prompts, or simply start over whenever they want. Suggested “Ideas” prompts are also built in for those in need of inspiration, ranging from seasonal trends to tours dominating the headlines right now.
According to the press release, Spotify frames the launch as part of a wider development, where passive listening turns into active co-creation. With 713 million platform listeners and a global emphasis on discovery tools that support artists, the company sees Prompted Playlists as a bridge between human-created playlists and scalable technology. According to Spotify’s management, the goal is to offer “more personal, more responsive, more intelligent” tools that match the beat of culture and deepen the connection between music and the fans who discover it.
From a music marketing lens, Prompt Playlists was able to reshape the way artists and labels think about discovery. More detailed user prompts can provide more varied pockets of music exposure, potentially showing tracks outside of the regular playlist circuit. At the same time, listeners can formulate their intentions in text form and can generate data about taste trends that Spotify and its partners find valuable.
Currently, the feature’s reach is limited to New Zealand, and Spotify hasn’t outlined a global rollout timeline. But the debut of Prompted Playlists signals a shift in streaming toward more interactive, user-led personalization tools that can influence listening habits well beyond beta.
How to create an AI playlist
It’s easy to create an AI playlist in the beta version: write a prompt in the chat, and Spotify’s system will build a mix based on your words. The feature currently only supports English-language prompts and can respond to everything from locations and activities to colors, emojis, movie characters or even animal references. Spotify notes that the most effective prompts tend to mix multiple elements—genre, mood, artists, decades—to deliver sharper, more personalized results.
- Go to Your library Collection.
- Tap Plus at the top and then select the AI Playlist.
- Choose one of the suggested prompts or write your own.
- Tap Add or save to add tracks to your playlist.
- Or press Remove to remove tracks from being recommended.
- Tap Create to save your playlist to your library.
Tap Refine playlist next to your profile, then edit your prompt to improve your playlist.
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