Spotify is launching its AI feature called “DJ” for premium customers in the UK and Ireland. The feature is for music discovery and plays curated music with AI-powered commentary in English. In many ways, using the AI DJ feels like listening to a radio DJ.
The company first launched the feature in February for premium subscribers in the US and Canada. The feature is powered by OpenAI technology and is still in beta, so there might be some issues.
After the feature launched, the company noticed that Gen Z liked the new DJ feature as it made up 87% of DJ users. Additionally, the company found that people who use AI DJ on any given day will spend 25% of their listening time with this feature.
Picture credits: Spotify
Spotify said the DJ’s voice is inspired by the company’s head of cultural partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. For example, he noted that users listening to the feature will hear about Arlo Parks releasing his new album “My Soft Machine” by the end of the month. Eventually, Spotify could use this feature as a new revenue stream to promote new releases on the platform.
While launching the feature at Spotify’s Stream On event, the company said the AI DJ is powered by its 2022 Sonatic acquisition in addition to OpenAI technology.
The DJ plays tracks automatically, but users can press the AI DJ button to change moods or genres. Like any AI-assisted technology, the feature learns more about your choices the more you listen.
The AI DJ function is available on iOS and Android. You can access it through the music stream by tapping on the DJ card.
