Spotify announced on Wednesday that, for the first time, it’s giving users more control over the streaming service’s algorithm. That’s at least how the company is framing the launch of its new “Promoted Playlists,” a feature that will initially be available to Premium subscribers in New Zealand.
The feature, which is currently available in English only, is still in beta and will evolve before rolling out to other markets, according to Spotify.
The new tool allows users to describe what they want to hear in a personalized playlist that reflects the “full arc” of their tastes, according to the company. That means the playlist focuses not only on the songs you like now, but your entire Spotify listening history from day one — something that differentiates the feature from other playlists, the company says.
The feature is an evolution from Spotify’s existing AI playlist option, which debuted last year, and also works through written prompts. As with AI playlists, the new Prompted Playlists allow users to request what they want to hear with written instructions. However, they can now write much longer prompts with more specific instructions. That’s because the new AI feature factors in world knowledge, a rep from Spotify explained to TechCrunch.
In addition, the ability to go further back in your listening history and schedule how often the playlist refreshes makes it different from Spotify’s other AI playlist offerings.
For instance, Spotify suggests subscribers can use the new feature to ask for something like, “music from my top artists from the last five years,” then amend the prompt to include a request for “deep cuts I haven’t heard yet.”
Image Credits:Spotify
In another example of a longer prompt, Spotify said you could ask for “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run that keeps a steady pace before easing into rel …