Spotify bets Premium subscribers want to chat with their music player

Spotify is expanding its AI voice interface. Premium subscribers can now talk to or text the service directly inside the app. "Play some artists I haven't heard before," "make it more upbeat," or "just his recent stuff" are some of the example commands from the announcement. In the playback view, users can ask questions about songs, artists, podcasts, and audiobooks. Personal listening history is fair game too, with queries like "When did I first listen to this song?" On top of that, Spotify says it can answer general knowledge questions like "When was the Odyssey written?" Simple questions will probably work fine, but more complex topics could trigger hallucinations.

Spotify had already rolled out AI playlists, letting users generate personalized playlists from text prompts. The platform is also becoming a growing home for AI-generated content. Through ElevenLabs, authors can publish audiobooks with AI-generated voices. At the same time, Spotify is fighting a flood of AI-generated songs, some of which get artificially boosted by bots. The new conversational feature launches in beta for users 18 and older in the US, Ireland, and Sweden.