Spotify’s Prompted Playlist lets you describe exactly what you want to hear

Ahead of its next price hike, Spotify is rolling out more advanced AI playlist functionality in the US and Canada. Prompted Playlist, which the company tested in New Zealand late last year, allows subscribers to “control the Spotify algorithm”, as the company describes it. “You don’t just request music, you determine how Spotify discovers it for you.”

For example, you can guide it to create a playlist of songs that you have saved in your library but haven’t listened to yet. (It can access your entire Spotify history.) You can also ask it to gather songs from a specific TV show or movie. (It uses real-time information on pop culture, charts and history.)

The feature includes options to refresh the playlist over time (daily or weekly). You can change the prompt for each playlist at any time. Each track will include a short note explaining why it was chosen.

Spotify says beta testers used Prompted Playlist to revisit songs related to specific moments and filter out tracks they’ve overplayed recently. “Others request lengthy, wordless electronic playlists to fuel their workday, or mix in artists related to current pop culture moments and viral trends,” the company wrote.

There is room for some confusion here as Spotify already has an “AI Playlist” feature. This simpler type will remain alongside the new “Guest” variety, which allows finer tuning and can filter more data.

The guest playlist will be available to Spotify Premium subscribers in the United States and Canada “by the end of the month.” Once you have access to it, you can try it out by tapping Create, then selecting Guest Playlist.