Spotify Expands AI Playlists to Podcasts

Spotify has expanded its AI-powered Prompted Playlist feature to include podcasts, allowing premium users to generate customized collections of episodes based on natural language descriptions. The update, rolling out in beta form today, targets English-language content in select markets including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.

The feature builds on the original Prompted Playlists tool, which debuted for music late last year in New Zealand and launched more widely this year in additional regions. Users can now tap the Create button in the Spotify app, select the Prompted Playlists option, and enter a text prompt to curate podcast lineups. For example, a user might request "a playlist of true crime podcasts full of twists and turns, including highly rated series I might have missed." The AI then assembles episodes by considering the prompt, the user's listening history, and current cultural trends reflected in Spotify's charts and signals.

Each added episode includes a brief note explaining its inclusion, such as relevance to the prompt or alignment with user preferences. Users can set playlists to update automatically...