Is a more conversational AI Spotify DJ on the way?
Spotify has teased a future where voice control could become a real conversation, not just commands.
Spotify is continuing to evolve how listeners interact with music on its platform, hinting at a future where voice control becomes even more conversational. During the company’s latest earnings call, Spotify’s Chief Product and Technology Officer Gustav Söderström suggested that the streaming giant is building on its current AI and voice features to offer a much more interactive experience.
Spotify has already made steps in this direction with the rollout of its AI DJ, a feature that creates a personalised radio-style stream based on your listening habits and preferences. More recently, this tool got a major upgrade – Premium users can now make voice requests directly to the DJ, asking for a different mood, genre or artist with just a simple command.
What’s new is how Spotify is using this voice data to better understand user intent. As TechCrunch reports. Söderström explained that this functionality is giving them a brand new dataset – different from traditional playlist behaviour – because it connects spoken language with the songs people actually want to hear. He described it by saying: “Spotify’s got this unique dataset from all of its playlists, which was really song-to-song – like which song goes well with another song, kind of the Amazon ‘people who bought this also bought that.’” Now, they’re collecting insights based on what people say out loud to the platform, and it’s helping them improve how the service responds.
According to Söderström, “You can think of it as us getting a new dataset,” and this dataset is growing quickly. It allows Spotify to explore how users talk about music in natural language, opening the door to more flexible and intelligent responses. This kind of data is different from past methods of recommendation and offers new possibilities for personalised music discovery.
In the near future, users can expect a much more interactive experience with Spotify’s AI DJ. “You can already write to Spotify, talk to Spotify. You’re just going to see that expand,” Söderström said.
Spotify’s vision appears to go beyond basic voice control. The aim is to develop a system that can reason across your listening history and voice interactions. Instead of only predicting what you might want to hear next, the AI would be able to think more like a real-life DJ – making suggestions that consider mood, timing, and personal taste across multiple steps. This could transform how people explore and enjoy music, especially through tools like Spotify’s AI DJ, which is already giving users a more tailored and dynamic experience.