Spotify Brings Its AI-Powered Playlist Tool To Podcasts For Premium Users

Spotify’s Prompted Playlist beta now builds custom podcast queues in English for paying subscribers across several markets.

Spotify is rolling out its Prompted Playlist feature to include podcasts, letting premium listeners craft tailored episode lists by typing short instructions. The company said users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, Sweden and earlier test markets can choose “Create,” pick “Prompted Playlists” and enter a request such as, “Find me investigative true-crime series with unexpected twists and strong ratings.” Playlists can be set to refresh every day, once a week on selected days, or not at all, and each added episode will include a brief note explaining why it was chosen.

The tool began as a music-focused experiment late last year in New Zealand and has since been expanded into new countries. Spotify gradually introduced the feature to additional regions over the past months and is now testing podcast-specific results in those same territories for English-language content. The move follows the company’s broader push to make spoken-word content easier to find and listen to.

Spotify says discovery on the platform is substantial: north of 34 million podcast titles get first-time listeners every week. The company will also surface some Prompted Playlists created by its editorial team on users’ home screens, and those lists can be modified by adjusting the original prompt. A podcast strategist I spoke with called the function “a shortcut for listeners overwhelmed by choices,” but added that creators will want to watch how the algorithm favors show formats and episode lengths.

The streaming service has been adjusting policies to favor podcast creators, too. Earlier this year it lowered the requirements for video podcast monetization — creators must now have at least three published shows, about 2,000 hours of consumption over the prior month and roughly 1,000 engaged listeners in that same span to qualify. Executives also reported there are more than half a million video podcasts on the platform as of late 2025.

Listeners who try the feature should expect a mix of older catalog episodes and recent installments tailored to their prompt. And while Spotify positions the expansion as a way to boost listening and creator reach, some industry observers caution that algorithmic curation can reshape which programs gain traction — a trade-off that creators and audiences will be watching closely.