What is Spotify's AI-assisted 'prompted playlist' and who can access?

Music streaming giant Spotify released a "prompted playlist" earlier this week, which is an artificial intelligence-powered feature only in the United States and Canada, currently exclusive for premium users.

The prompted playlist allows premium Spotify users to tailor playlists using their listening habits and commands.

The feature was first successfully tested and implemented in New Zealand, and the expansion is the latest among many AI-powered updates on the Swedish streaming platform as it's eyeing to convert more users from the free tier to its subscription plans.

"Listeners don't just want Spotify to understand them. They want to actively shape their own experience," Spotify's Vice President Of Product Personalization Molly Holder said.

The company said the new feature would make users active participants who direct the algorithm relying on their words and intentions, rather than passive recipients getting suggestions provided by the streaming platform.

Unlike Spotify's previous features such as AI playlist, prompted playlist will enable users to set "rules" for the AI-generated content and can be customised for daily or weekly refreshes to ensure the music remains current.

The move comes on the heels of Spotify's announcement to increase price of its monthly premium subscription plan by $1 to $12.99 in the US, Estonia and Latvia beginning February.