Spotify just launched its most powerful playlist creator yet – here are 3 things you should know about Prompted Playlists

• Spotify has announced a new playlist-creation tool called Prompted Playlists, allowing you to have control over your algorithm for the first time
• Just like Discover Weekly, Prompted Playlists will refresh daily or monthly based on which setting you choose
• It's rolling out now, but only in New Zealand initially – we don't know when it will come to other regions

Spotify has unveiled a new playlist-curation tool which could be one of the smartest features to come from the platform – say hello to Prompted Playlists.

Prompted Playlists takes the personal listening experience a step further, putting you in the driver’s seat and allowing you to control your algorithm. Using your detailed prompts, it lets you describe what you want to hear, allowing you to make the rules. From there, Spotify curates a playlist and keeps it fresh with regular updates – just like Discover Weekly.

In its announcement, co-president Gustav Söderström shared "For the first time, your ideas, your logic, and your creativity can actually power the Spotify algorithm, directing how it thinks, adapts, and responds to you."

The new feature expands on the functions of the standard AI playlist tool, and is being rolled out in beta to Premium members in New Zealand. At the moment, we don’t know when Prompted Playlists will expand to other regions, but we’ve reached out to Spotify for more information.

But exactly how does it work?

It survives off your prompts, big or small

Similar to the existing AI playlist tool, Prompted Playlist uses your written prompts to generate a unique playlist, but can cater to longer and more detailed entries. It then uses your entire listening history and 'world knowledge' to generate the playlist, rather than simply predicting what you might want to hear like Discover Weekly.

For example, you could enter the prompt ‘music from my top artists from the last five years’ and then dive deeper by asking ‘and feature deep cuts I haven’t heard yet’. In one of Spotify’s examples, it uses a highly detailed prompt to generate a Kpop discovery playlist to span sub-genres and hidden gems that a user may not have listened to – so there are endless possibilities.

You can also edit the prompt at any time, if you want to fine-tune the results. Sounds clever right? There’s more.

Like Discover Weekly, Prompted Playlists are updated

This is where Prompted Playlists truly shine, and where it differs from your standard AI playlist feature.

Once you’ve entered your prompt, you then have the option to select how often your Prompted Playlist updates. You can choose Daily and your playlist will update every day at 6am, or you can select Weekly and decide which day your playlist refreshes.

In a way, this lets you create your own Discover Weekly-like playlists where you set the standard.

Your recommendations are put into context

Once you have your fresh Prompted Playlist, each song will come with descriptions and context to explain the 'thinking' behind the recommendations.

This is a first-time move for Spotify, which the company touts will make the playlist feel "alive and crafted specifically for your prompt and your taste". Have you ever been confused by your Discover Weekly recommendations? This new tool lets you see exactly why Spotify has suggested certain songs to you.

Will you be using Prompted Playlists once it's rolled out everywhere? Or will you stick with your Discover Weekly? Let us know in the comments below.

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