Spotify has introduced a new feature called Prompted Playlist, which allows users to create personalized playlists by describing what they want to listen to. This feature marks a shift towards more active user engagement and collaboration with the platform’s algorithm. Instead of relying solely on automated suggestions, users can guide Spotify’s algorithm with specific prompts, such as a mood, activity, or musical direction.
The Prompted Playlist feature draws from a user’s entire Spotify listening history, including years of data, to generate playlists that feel personal and tailored to their tastes. Users can also choose to refresh their playlists daily or weekly, allowing them to evolve over time as new music is released and listening habits change.
This feature differs from Spotify’s existing AI Playlist feature, which also generates playlists based on written prompts. However, Prompted Playlist is designed to evolve over time, taking into account a user’s full platform history, world knowledge, and cultural relevance. The system interprets context and matches keywords to create playlists that are more nuanced and personalized.
To create a Prompted Playlist, users can navigate to the Create Playlist option on the Spotify app and select the new feature. They are then prompted to enter a written description of what they are looking for, which can be a mood, activity, aesthetic, or specific listening context. Spotify generates the playlist in real-time, showing brief notes about how it is interpreting the request.
Once the playlist is created, users can choose to schedule automatic refreshes, setting it to update daily or weekly. The playlist can also be edited like any other Spotify playlist, with tracks removable, reorderable, or savable. These interactions help fine-tune future updates, allowing the playlist to continue evolving with the user’s changing tastes.
The introduction of Prompted Playlist reflects Spotify’s efforts to enhance user engagement and provide more personalized experiences. By giving users more control over their playlists and allowing them to collaborate with the algorithm, Spotify aims to create a more dynamic and responsive music streaming platform. As the feature rolls out to users in the US, it will be interesting to see how it is received and how it evolves over time.
