At the SXSW event, Spotify introduced a new way for users to shape their own recommendations. The company’s co-CEO, Gustav Söderström, revealed a feature called Taste Profile. It gives listeners more direct control over what appears in their feed.
Taste Profile uses AI to study your listening habits. Then it lets you fine-tune them. The feature is still in beta. It will roll out to Premium users in New Zealand in the coming weeks.
Spotify shared a short demo during the event. In the video, users see a summary of their listening patterns. At the bottom, a “Tell us more” prompt appears. This option allows users to guide the algorithm more clearly.
For example, you can ask to see more of a certain genre. You can also remove a genre that keeps showing up. In addition, Spotify says the tool understands broader requests. If you are training for a marathon, you can ask for upbeat music. If you commute daily, you can request news podcasts for that time.
Importantly, the feature remains optional. Users who prefer the current system can ignore it. They can continue using Spotify as usual.
Taste Profile builds on Spotify’s recent AI push. Last month, the company launched Prompted Playlist. This feature lets users enter specific instructions to create playlists. For instance, you can request songs from a particular TV show only.
Unlike the earlier AI Playlist tool, Prompted Playlist focuses on detailed prompts. Spotify first tested that feature in New Zealand. A month later, it expanded to users in the United States and Canada.
