We’re firmly in the AI era, and chatbots and personal assistants are all the rage. Soon enough, eligible iPhone users will get the chance to experience an AI-powered Siri, Meanwhile, ChatGPT is available to answer your questions even while you’re driving. It’s increasingly all but impossible to use modern technology without being invited to interface with AI. Case in point: You can now “talk” to Spotify. On first blush, this struck me as a bit weird, but it might actually be useful—especially for users who want to know everything about their listening history.
How talking to Spotify works
On Tuesday, Spotify announced a new update that lets you text or speak directly with the app. The idea isn’t to treat Spotify like a conversation partner; rather, Spotify wants you to tell the app what you want to listen to. In one example, you could ask “Play some artists I haven’t heard before,” or “play a mix of hits from my top artist.” You can also stack requests. If you say “Add some Bad Bunny,” you can follow up with something like “just the newest hits” or “make it more chill.”
You can also ask Spotify to give you more info on the music that’s currently playing from the Now Playing window. You can ask general knowledge questions like “When did this album come out?” or “What genre is this song?” but also more specific queries. Spotify suggests “What is the inspiration behind Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism?” That also goes for podcasts and audiobooks—you can also ask things like “What other books has [the author] written?” or “Show me some other podcasts this person has appeared on.”
Most of these things could be solved with a quick Google search, but what could be the most interesting function of this feature is how personalized it can get. Spotify says you can ask questions about your own listening history: “When did I first listen to this song?” or “What types of music have I been listening to lately?” If you’re curious about your Spotify stats—and the annual obsession with Spotify Wrapped suggests you are—this might be an intriguing way to get some insight before the end of the year rolls around.
This is, of course, far from the first AI-powered Spotify feature. The app previously launched a tool that tells you more about your music using AI, without you needing to prompt it first. You can also generate playlists with AI, as you can with other music apps (including now Apple Music).
How to try talking to Spotify
While this feature is rolling out now, it won’t be available to all Spotify users. The company says that only “eligible Premium users” will be able to chat with Spotify directly in Home and the Now Playing view on the mobile app. At launch, that means users in the U.S., Ireland, and Sweden. Spotify also stresses that the feature is currently in beta, which means even if it does hit your device soon, you might get mixed results at the start.
