Spotify Lets You Tell It What to Play: Inside the New AI-Powered “Prompted Playlists” Feature

Spotify is marking the beginning of a new era of musical recommendations by empowering users to create playlists of their own choice simply by writing down what they want to listen to. Spotify, known to constantly come up with some innovative solution, presents to users another amazing product called “Prompted Playlists” that use artificial intelligence to create playlists based on the music idea users want to listen to.

"Until now, Spotify's algorithmic recommendations, such as Discover Weekly and Release Radar, operated in the background, shaping what millions of users around the world heard every day. But with the new feature, instead of just letting the algorithm try to decipher what you like and no one else, you can now tell it what you want, using natural language, like "I'd like upbeat indie songs to listen to on a rainy commute" and "Start with energizing pop and hip-hop songs to run to and calm-down sounds after a workout," and it will scour your entire listening history, as well as your recent activity, to curate a playlist based on what you specify and what your musical path has taken you on, based on what you like and what you've liked before."

The new feature rolled out its beta version on December 11th, 2025, and it is only available to Spotify Premium users in New Zealand, which is the first country Spotify has targeted prior to the universal rollout.

The Difference about Prompted Playlists Compared to Previous Solutions 

The key thing that distinguishes the latest playlists as a solution compared to the technology available before it has to do with the level of detail that the consumers are given the freedom to insert into their requests. As opposed to the required details being such broad parameters as “sport” or “relax,” the consumers are able to insert parameters such as genres, periods, mood, rates, and even cultural movements.
Spotify

Each playlist that could be created with that prompt comes with an explanation of how songs were selected, which provides the user with insight into the logic the system used to decide which songs to pick in response to the user's query and listening habits, which, according to Spotify, allows it to be a more personalized experience.

The company has also provided starting examples for those who are having trouble thinking of their own, such as combinations based off of famous tours and songs that match a certain mood.

The executives at Spotify describe “Prompted Playlists” as an incarnation of a new approach to music discovery that de-emphasizes predictiveness and leans toward an interactive process whereby the user has a direct input into what they listen to. “This is the first feature that puts control of the algorithm and the overall Spotify experience directly in your hands,” said the company, as they described an aspiration to make music discovery an “intentional,” “responsive,” and “contextual” process.


This offering follows on the back of experimentation involving AI-assisted playlisting tools, such as the AI Playlist product that Spotify trialed in countries such as the U.K. and Australia back in 2024 but with the new tool called Prompted Playlists adding more depth to the personalization elements and how AI responds to music-related prompts. As Spotify continues to develop and enhance their AI tools, Prompted Playlists suggests a future where a user can literally verbalize their dream playlist, and it will come to life, all within the same application. However, based on how successful the beta experience has been in New Zealand, this may be about to change what a music playlist means in a world of streaming.