Spotify is widening the reach of its AI-powered playlist tool, Prompted Playlist, by adding podcasts to the mix. After initially testing the feature in New Zealand late last year for music discovery, Spotify has continued rolling it out in more countries throughout 2025, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, Sweden, and New Zealand. Now, premium users in these markets can also use Prompted Playlist to build podcast playlists in English, using natural-language prompts that feel more like asking a friend for recommendations than scrolling endlessly for something new.
To try it, listeners can tap “Create” in the app and choose “Prompted Playlists,” then type in exactly what they’re in the mood for. Spotify says prompts can be as specific as you want—for example: “Make a playlist of True Crime podcasts I would be interested in. Add highly rated series I might have missed, especially ones full of twists and turns.” The goal is to turn podcast discovery into a faster, more personalized experience, especially for genres with endless options and long back catalogs.
Spotify is also giving users control over how fresh these AI-generated podcast playlists stay. You can choose whether your playlist updates daily, weekly (including selecting specific days), or doesn’t update at all. When the system adds an episode, Spotify says it will include a short note explaining why that pick made it into your lineup—an extra detail meant to make recommendations feel more transparent and tailored to your request.
The company is positioning the update as a win for both listeners and creators. Spotify’s Global Head of Podcast Editorial, Lizzy Hale, said the feature is designed to make finding your next great listen feel effortless and personal. For podcast creators, it can also improve discoverability by connecting audiences to both new episodes and older content at the exact moment they’re signaling what they want.
Spotify is clearly leaning into podcast discovery as a major focus area. The company notes that more than 34 million podcasts are discovered for the first time every week on Spotify, and Prompted Playlist is another attempt to help users find shows and episodes they might otherwise miss. Spotify also says some users may see ready-made Prompted Playlists curated by its culture team directly on the home screen, which can then be customized simply by editing the prompt.
This move fits into a broader push to make the platform more podcast-friendly, especially for video podcasts. Earlier this year, Spotify adjusted its monetization requirements for video podcasters, lowering the bar to qualify. Under the updated criteria, creators need three published podcasts, 2,000 consumption hours over the previous 30 days, and at least 1,000 engaged listeners in that same timeframe. In a recent earnings call, Spotify also shared that the platform now hosts more than 530,000 video podcasts, signaling just how quickly the format is growing.
With Prompted Playlist now supporting podcasts, Spotify is betting that AI-assisted discovery—paired with user control and clearer recommendation context—can help listeners spend less time searching and more time listening.
