Spotify’s Prompted Playlists collaborates with you to build a playlist based on your prompts and instructions

After a short trial in New Zealand, Spotify has today announced the availability of Prompted Playlists in Australia, placing playlist creation firmly in users’ hands.

Prompted Playlist generates a playlist based on the description of the required playlist you provide to the app. Describe what you want to listen to, include a mood or intent and add parameters such as leaving room for surprise and Spotify will take it from there. The playlist prompt can be edited at any time and you can be as creative as you want. Spotify are calling it a “collaboration, not automation.”

Although Spotify already offers a “Discover Weekly,” Prompted Playlist lets users customise it, allowing them to tailor discovery to what they are in the mood for. Users can start broadly and fine-tune it based on results from Spotify, which are not just based on your prompt but also on your listening history, right from the very first day you used Spotify.

It sounds a lot like AI, but Spotify is calling it an algorithm—finally, someone is being honest: a lot of “AI” is just algorithms and software. In the end, you are giving the software prompts, just as you would ChatGPT or Gemini, and the output is based on the direction and specificity of your instructions.

“We hear from listeners all the time that they love playlists, but making their own can feel daunting,” said Sulinna Ong, Global Head of Editorial. “Our editors spend a lot of time thoughtfully curating 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.”

According to Spotify, here’s how you can use it best:

1. Open Spotify and tap Create, then select Prompted Playlist.
2. Describe what you want to hear, whether it’s a specific vibe, scenario, or cultural moment.
3. Spotify will generate a playlist from your idea. From there, you can also set it to refresh daily or weekly.
4. Share your Prompted Playlist with friends, and we’ll tune it to their taste so everyone gets their own personalised version. Maybe something like, “songs that feel like my early-2000s college years mixed with upbeat tracks from the TV shows, movies, and pop culture moments that defined that decade” to boost the energy before the friend group reunites.

Prompted Playlist is available from today to Australian premium Spotify subscribers on the Spotify app’s homepage. Check it out and start creating your own playlists in a fraction of the time.