Premium listeners can now build custom playlists using simple text or voice prompts on YouTube Music.

YouTube Music gets AI Playlist tool

YouTube Music is joining the AI playlist party. The platform is rolling out a new feature called “AI Playlist,” letting Premium subscribers generate playlists by describing what they want to hear, whether it be “an idea, mood, or genre”. Simply say or type what you want, and YouTube Music’s AI will pull together a playlist to match.

The feature is currently rolling out to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium users on both iOS and Android.

How the AI Playlist feature works

It’s easy to start using the AI Playlist tool. Here’s how you can use it to generate your playlist:

  1. Head to the Library tab and tap the “New” button in the bottom right.
  2. From there, select “AI Playlist”.
  3. Enter a prompt using either your voice or text.
  4. YouTube Music’s AI then builds a playlist based on that description.

If the feature sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Spotify recently introduced Prompted Playlists which lets users write prompts to generate playlists uniquely tailored to them. Unlike Prompted Playlists though, YouTube hasn’t shared whether it uses listening history or behavioral data to generate results. It’s also not yet clear whether these AI-generated playlists will be editable after creation, or how many tracks make each playlist. 

Moving beyond, Amazon Music has also rolled out AI-powered “Weekly Vibe” playlists, while Deezer has an AI-driven playlist tool too. 

Part of YouTube Music’s wider push

The launch builds on the back of YouTube Music’s existing AI-driven features. In 2024, the platform introduced and later expanded its AI radio feature Ask Music, which allows users to create personalized radio stations through simple prompts. AI Playlist is a natural extension of that, moving from stations to playlists. 

As TechCrunch points out, it also lands as YouTube continues to strengthen the value of its Premium plan. Just this week, the platform began to limit free users from viewing song lyrics on YouTube Music. 

YouTube Music puts lyrics behind a Premium paywall

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