YouTube Premium’s New AI Creates Your Playlists
▼ Summary
– YouTube is launching an AI playlist feature for Premium users on iOS and Android, allowing them to create playlists via text or voice prompts.
– The feature is accessed through the Library tab’s “New” button and can generate playlists based on genres, moods, or specific ideas.
– This follows earlier tests in 2024 and aligns with similar AI features introduced by rival services like Spotify and Amazon Music.
– YouTube is enhancing its Premium offering, recently experimenting with restricting song lyrics for some free users on YouTube Music.
– Google’s subscription business is growing, with YouTube contributing to a total of 325 million paying users across its services.
YouTube Premium is introducing a new feature that leverages artificial intelligence to generate custom music playlists. This tool is now available for subscribers using the iOS and Android versions of YouTube Music. By utilizing simple text or voice prompts, users can instantly create a personalized listening experience tailored to their current mood, activity, or musical taste.
To access this functionality, navigate to the Library tab within the YouTube Music app and tap the “New” button. From the menu that appears, select the “AI playlist” option. You can then describe the kind of playlist you want. Examples of effective prompts include “raging death metal,” “sad post rock,” or “progressive house mix for a chill party.” The system interprets these descriptions and assembles a corresponding playlist on the spot.
This development is part of YouTube’s ongoing exploration of AI for music curation. The company began testing a similar concept in the United States back in July 2024, which allowed users to generate custom radio stations through prompts. YouTube is not alone in this space; competing services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer have also implemented their own versions of AI-driven playlist and radio creation tools.
The launch aligns with a broader strategy to enhance the value of a YouTube Premium subscription. In a related move, the platform recently initiated an experiment where a small percentage of ad-supported users on YouTube Music can no longer view song lyrics. The company clarified that this is a limited test and that lyrics remain accessible to the vast majority of free users. These efforts appear to be paying off, as Google’s subscription services, which include YouTube Premium and Google One, recently reported a combined total of 325 million paying users, highlighting significant growth in this business segment.
(Source: TechCrunch)
