Spotify is rolling out “Prompted Playlists,” its newest AI-powered feature designed to give listeners more control over how the platform builds playlists. Announced by Spotify co-President Gustav Söderström, the tool enters beta for Premium subscribers in New Zealand, offering a more customizable upgrade to last year’s AI playlist experiment.
The feature lets users describe exactly what they want in a playlist, drawing from their entire listening history rather than recent activity alone. Spotify says the goal is to capture the “full arc” of a listener’s taste, allowing playlists to reflect both current favorites and long-term habits.
While it works similarly to existing AI playlists, the difference is in the depth of instruction. Users can now input longer, more detailed prompts with layers of nuance. Spotify highlights examples such as asking for “deep cuts I haven’t heard yet,” “music from my top artists from the last five years,” or more complex setups like “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run that keeps a steady pace before easing into relaxing songs for a cool-down.”
Another addition is the option to control how frequently a playlist refreshes, from daily to weekly. Users can repeatedly refine their instructions until the playlist matches their exact preferences, essentially allowing them to build their own version of Discover Weekly, but tailored to a specific mood, era, or genre.
As Spotify continues experimenting with AI, “Prompted Playlists” aims to give listeners a deeper, more personalized way to interact with the platform’s algorithm.
