Spotify Brings AI 'Prompted Playlists' to Podcasts

AI-Powered Curation Expands Beyond Music

Music streaming giant Spotify announced a significant update to its "Prompted Playlist" feature today, expanding the artificial intelligence tool to include its massive library of podcasts. This move allows users to generate customized listening lists through natural language descriptions, moving beyond the music-only capabilities of its initial launch.

The Beta feature is now available to Premium subscribers in several key markets, including:

• United States and Canada
• United Kingdom and Ireland
• Australia
• Sweden
• New Zealand (where testing began in late 2023)

How It Works: Natural Language Meets Audio Discovery

To utilize the tool, users tap "Create" within the app and select "Prompted Playlists." From there, they can input specific requests such as, "Make a playlist of True Crime podcasts I would be interested in. Add highly rated series I might have missed, especially ones full of twists and turns."

According to Spotify, each episode added to an AI-generated playlist will include a short note explaining why it was selected for the user. Additionally, listeners can customize the refresh rate of these lists, choosing between daily updates, weekly schedules, or static lists.

Fueling Podcast Growth and Discovery

"Podcast fans are always looking for their next great listen," said Lizzy Hale, Spotify’s Global Head of Podcast Editorial, in an official statement. "Prompted Playlist makes discovery feel effortless and personal. For creators, it unlocks powerful new opportunities for discovery, bringing both back catalog and new episodes to audiences."

The company highlighted that over 34 million podcasts are discovered for the first time by users every week on the platform. By introducing AI prompts, Spotify aims to simplify the navigation of its vast ecosystem, which now includes over 530,000 video podcasts alone.

A Broader Strategy for Creator Support

The expansion of AI playlists follows several other "podcast-friendly" pivots by the company:

• Lowered Monetization Hurdles: Earlier this year, Spotify adjusted its video podcast monetization criteria. Creators now only need three published podcasts, 2,000 consumption hours, and 1,000 engaged listeners over a 30-day period to qualify.
• Curated Suggestions: Spotify’s own culture team will occasionally place pre-made "Prompted Playlists" on user home screens, which can then be further refined by the listener.

As of its Q4 2025 earnings report, Spotify continues to double down on conversational AI to keep users engaged in an increasingly crowded digital audio market. Currently, the podcast AI playlist feature is limited to English-language content.