Spotify is expanding its Prompted Playlist feature in beta to more Premium listeners, rolling it out across the U.S. and Canada beginning January 22, 2026. The product, which Spotify began testing with Premium users in New Zealand in December 2025, is designed to let listeners generate playlists by describing what they want to hear in their own words, with results tailored by both their listening history and what’s trending in music in the moment.
Prompted Playlist is positioned as a way for users to steer discovery more directly, whether that means prioritizing emerging artists, surfacing deeper cuts, filtering out overplayed tracks, or shaping a playlist around a specific mood, memory, scenario, or cultural moment. Spotify says the system uses real-time signals across music trends, charts, culture, and history, while also factoring in a listener’s full Spotify history to reflect longer-term taste.
The experience also includes controls to adjust the output over time. Users can edit their prompt, start over with a new prompt, or set the playlist to refresh daily or weekly. Spotify also adds a short explanation for each track describing why it was included, and provides an “Ideas” option to help users get started. In addition, some listeners may see editor- and culture-expert-created example prompts surfaced on their Home screen to spark personalized playlist creation.
Accessing the feature starts from the Create flow in the Spotify app, where Premium users can select Prompted Playlist and enter a description of what they want to hear. Spotify said the beta will continue to evolve as it gathers feedback, and that usage limits will remain in place during testing. The company expects Prompted Playlist to finish rolling out to Premium users in the U.S. and Canada by the end of January.
KEY QUOTE:
“We hear from listeners all the time that they love playlists, but making their own can feel daunting. Our editors spend a lot of time thoughtfully curating playlists, and that level of intention can be hard to replicate when you’re starting from scratch. Prompted Playlist offers a more intuitive entry point, letting users begin with moods, moments, or ideas in their own words, and build something that feels personal.”
Sulinna Ong, Global Head of Editorial, Spotify
