Spotify expands AI playlist prompts to include podcasts

Spotify has announced an expansion of its AI-powered playlist creation tool, Prompted Playlists, to now include podcasts alongside music. The update aims to improve how users discover spoken-word content on the platform.

The company initially began testing the Prompted Playlists feature in New Zealand toward the end of last year, focusing on generating music playlists through AI prompts. Earlier this year, Spotify expanded the feature to additional markets, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Sweden.

With the latest update, premium users in these regions can now use the feature to create English-language podcast playlists. To begin, users can tap the “Create” option in the app, select “Prompted Playlists,” and enter a prompt describing the type of content they want. For example, a user might request a list of true-crime podcasts, including both highly rated shows and lesser-known series with engaging storylines.

The feature also allows users to control how frequently their playlists are refreshed. Options include daily updates, weekly updates with selectable days, or no updates at all. When new podcast episodes are added, Spotify includes a short explanation to show why each item was selected for the playlist.

According to Lizzy Hale, Spotify’s Global Head of Podcast Editorial, the update is designed to make podcast discovery more personalised and intuitive. She noted that listeners are constantly searching for new content, and the feature helps match them with podcasts that align with their interests. At the same time, it provides creators with more opportunities to surface both new episodes and older content to relevant audiences.

Spotify reported that more than 34 million podcasts are discovered for the first time each week on its platform, highlighting the scale of its content ecosystem. The company is continuing to invest in tools that make it easier for users to explore this growing library.

In addition to user-generated prompts, Spotify may also showcase curated Prompted Playlists created by its internal culture team on users’ home screens. These playlists can be further customised by adjusting the original prompt to match individual preferences better.

The expansion is part of a broader effort by Spotify to strengthen its position in the podcast space. Earlier this year, the company updated its monetisation requirements for video podcast creators. Under the revised criteria, creators must have at least 3 published podcast episodes, 2,000 hours of consumption over the previous 30 days, and at least 1,000 engaged listeners over the same period.

During its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call in February, co-CEO Alex Norström revealed that the platform hosts more than 530,000 video podcasts, underscoring the company’s continued push into multimedia content. By integrating AI-driven playlist creation with podcast discovery, Spotify is aiming to make its platform more dynamic for listeners while giving creators additional visibility in an increasingly competitive audio landscape.