Image Credit: Spotify /
Spotify has already seen success with its popular AI DJ feature, and now the streaming music service is bringing AI to playlist creation. The company on Monday introduced AI Playlists in beta, a new option that lets users create a playlist based on written prompts.
The feature will first be available to users on Android and iOS devices in the UK and Australia and will be rolled out iteratively over the coming months.
In addition to more standard playlist creation requests based on genre or timeframe, Spotify's use of AI means people can listen to a variety of custom playlists, such as “songs to serenade my cat” or “songs to fight a zombie apocalypse.” ,” suggests Spotify. Prompts can refer to all sorts of things, such as places, animals, activities, movie characters, colors or emojis. However, the company notes that the best playlists are created using prompts that contain a mix of genres, moods, artists, and even decades.
Spotify also uses its understanding of users' tastes to customize the playlists it creates with the feature.
After the playlist is created, users can use AI to edit and enhance the final result by giving commands like “less boom” or “more pop”. Users can swipe left on any song to remove it from the playlist.
In terms of technology, Spotify says it uses large language models (LLMs) to understand user intent. Then, Spotify uses its personalization technology — information about the listener's history and preferences — to fulfill the request and create a personalized AI-generated playlist for the user.
The company uses third-party tools for its AI and machine learning experiences.
TechCrunch first reported that Spotify was developing AI playlists in October 2023, when reverse engineers Chris Messina and Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots of code from Spotify's app that suggested AI playlists “based on your triggers.”
Spotify declined to comment on the discovery at the time, saying it would not make a statement on potential new features. However, in December 2023, the company confirmed it was testing AI-powered playlist creation after a TikTok video surfaced showing what a Spotify user described as “Spotify's ChatGPT”.
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This feature is found in the “Your Library” tab in the Spotify app by tapping the plus button (+) at the top right of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear showing AI Playlist as a new option alongside the existing “Playlist” and “Blend” options.
If a listener can't think of something motivating to try, Spotify offers instant suggestions to help people get started, such as “focus on work with instrumental electronics,” “fill the silence with background cafe music,” “get high.” Fun, upbeat and positive songs” or “Explore a niche genre like Witch House” and so on.
To save an AI playlist, tap the “Create” button to add it to the library.
The company notes that the AI will have safety nets around it, so it can respond to attack triggers or focus on current events or specific brands.
Spotify has been investing in AI technology to improve its streaming service for months. With the introduction of AI DJ, which expanded globally last year, the company used a combination of Sonantic and OpenAI technology to create an artificial version of the voice of Xavier “X” Jernigan, Spotify's head of cultural partnerships, who introduced personalized song selections. user. Last year, Spotify said it was investing in in-house research to better understand the latest in AI and big language models.
CEO Daniel Eck has teased investors about other ways Spotify could use AI, such as shortening podcasts, creating AI-generated audio ads, and more. The company is also looking at using AI technology that clones a podcast host's voice for host-read ads.
Prior to AI playlists, Spotify introduced a similar feature, Niche Mixes, which allowed users to create personalized playlists using prompts, but the product did not use AI technology and was very limited in terms of its language understanding.
