Spotify has begun rolling out a new feature called Prompted Playlist to Premium users in the United States and Canada. The tool lets you describe what you want to hear in plain language, then builds a playlist using your full listening history along with real-time music trends, charts, and culture.
Spotify first tested Prompted Playlist with Premium listeners in New Zealand last month. The company now brings the beta to a much larger audience as it looks to refine how people discover and control their music.
What Prompted Playlist Does
Prompted Playlist takes a written prompt and turns it into a living playlist. You can describe a mood, a memory, a workout, or even a pop culture moment. Spotify then pulls songs that match your taste and what is happening in music right now.
Unlike earlier tools, this feature also uses your entire listening history, going all the way back to when you first joined Spotify. As a result, each playlist reflects not only what you like today but also how your taste has evolved over time.
Each song in the playlist also comes with a short line that explains why Spotify picked it for you. That extra context helps you understand the recommendation and makes the playlist feel more personal.
How It Is Different From an AI Playlist
Spotify already offers an AI Playlist, which lets users type a prompt and get a playlist. Prompted Playlist goes further by adding two key elements.
First, it uses real-time data about trends, charts, culture, and music history. Second, it lets you decide if and when the playlist updates. You can set it to refresh daily or weekly, so it keeps changing as your taste and the world around you change.
This turns a one-time playlist into something that stays current without you needing to rebuild it from scratch.
Example Prompts You Can Use
- Music from my top artists from the last five years, with deep cuts I have not heard yet
- High energy pop and hip hop for a 30-minute run, then slower tracks for a cool down
- Mood boosting indie pop for getting ready with friends, including songs from recent TV shows
- Warm acoustic songs for a slow Sunday morning, plus trending singer-songwriters
- Songs that feel like my early 2000s college years mixed with today’s upbeat pop culture hits
Once you tap Generate playlist, Spotify analyzes your habits and current music trends to create the result.
How to Use Prompted Playlist
- Open Spotify
- Tap Create
- Select Prompted Playlist
- Describe what you want to hear
- Let Spotify generate the playlist
- Set it to refresh daily or weekly if you want
You can also edit your original prompt or start over at any time.
Why Spotify Built This
Sulinna Ong, Spotify’s Global Head of Editorial, said many listeners love playlists but find it hard to make their own from scratch. She explained that Prompted Playlist gives people an easier way to start with moods, moments, or ideas in their own words, then turn those into something that feels personal.
Spotify also plans to show example prompts on the Home screen. Music editors and culture experts create these ideas to help users get started and explore what the feature can do.
Prompted Playlist is still in beta. Spotify will keep adjusting the feature based on how people use it and the feedback they share. During this testing phase, some limits may apply while the company fine-tunes the experience.
The rollout to Premium users in the United States and Canada will continue through the end of the month. Spotify says it wants to see what people create and how they use this new way to shape their music.
