Spotify’s AI Playlist Tool Is Impressive — but I’ll Still Make My Own

• Spotify has launched AI Playlist, a new feature that allows you to create playlists with a text or emoji prompt.
• The feature is in beta mode and is currently only available in the UK and Australia.
• I think this is Spotify’s coolest feature since the end-of-year “Wrapped” roundup.

I’ve always been a huge music fan and even started DJing as a hobby a few years ago.

So when I saw that Spotify had launched AI Playlist in beta for Premium users in the UK and Australia this week, I was excited because I knew it could save me time creating lists reading.

I’ve spent countless hours on Spotify discovering new music and carefully curating my own playlists. But it takes time to create different ones by genre, ones that would work well together in a mix, and others to provide the soundtrack for almost any mood and situation.

I tried the new feature to see how quick and easy it was, and if it could accommodate my music preferences. Here’s how it went:

How it works

When you open the Spotify app, tap “Your Library” and the “+” button. It then gives you three options: “Playlist” to create your own, “Mix” to create a playlist shared with friends, and “AI Playlist” to “turn your ideas into playlists using AI.”

Once you tap “AI Playlist,” a text box appears where you can enter a prompt, even just typing an emoji.

In five seconds, it can create a playlist consisting of 30 songs based on what it thinks you’ll like. You can edit the list by swiping left on songs to delete them and tapping “Create” to save the playlist.

He created 10 playlists in less than a minute

Spotify said in its press release announcing the feature that you can use prompts that reference “places, animals, activities, movie characters, colors, and even emojis.” So that’s exactly what I did.

I typed in a bunch of text prompts to see how it went. First, I wanted to see how well he would respond to emojis and if he could identify a mood and thematic playlist that reflected it. I asked the tool to create one based on the emoji of a face holding back tears.

Within seconds, he created a playlist called “Resonant Emotions” that is “filled with emotionally charged tracks” from well-known artists like Adele, Hozier and Amy Winehouse.

Then I gave him the following prompt: “Make me a minimal tech playlist with artists I’ve never discovered.” He made a list of songs that I had never heard before, but loved once I played them.

I then requested a playlist based on the vibes of Joseph Cooper, the main character from the movie “Interstellar.” And sure enough, it worked. He did one called “Cooper’s Essence,” which was filled with ethereal tracks, as well as a few songs that seemed a little removed from the prompt I gave him.

I also wanted him to make one “based on lion vibes” and it included a bunch of empowerment songs. You can also refine the playlist with another prompt, so I tapped to remove hip-hop songs. Strangely, he responded: “Let’s keep it pretty inclusive.” Try something else. »

It’s still in beta mode, so it’s not quite perfect. For the most part, the feature was successful in extracting songs based on a brief description of what I’m looking for.

This will not create offensive playlists

It also has some built-in safeguards to prevent possible misuse. As Spotify says in its press release: “We also have measures in place regarding offensive prompts, so please act responsibly! »

I thought I would test the effectiveness of these measures. When I asked him to create a playlist on “white power,” he said he “couldn’t help” on that topic.

When I asked to create one for diversity, equity and inclusion, it included songs like “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga and “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Here are some of the other prompts I’ve used to generate playlists:

• Make me one based on the vibe of Sardinia in Italy

• For when I’m feeling introspective

• To motivate myself for a workout

• Based on the color yellow

• Help me concentrate

• Getting ready to go out

This is a game changer

Overall, I think this is Spotify’s coolest feature since Wrapped, the year-end breakdown of a user’s listening habits.

AI Playlist is a great way to save time when I want to create a last-minute playlist for an event or when traveling.

It also takes a lot of work to find new artists or songs that I like, but I would still create my own playlists full of songs that I found myself.