YouTube has officially launched a new AI-powered playlist generation feature, enhancing its music streaming service for Premium subscribers. The tool, now rolling out to users on both iOS and Android, allows for the creation of customized music playlists through simple text-based prompts.
How the AI Playlist Generator Works
Premium users can access the new feature by navigating to the Library tab within the YouTube Music app and selecting the “AI playlist” option. From there, users can input text or voice prompts to generate a curated list of songs.
The AI can interpret a wide range of commands, from genre-specific requests like “sad post rock” or “indie pop” to mood-based prompts such as “progressive house mix for a chill party” and decade-specific compilations like “90s classic hits.”
A Competitive Move in the Streaming Wars
This launch positions YouTube more directly against rivals like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer, all of which have previously integrated similar AI-driven playlist or radio creation tools. The move is part of YouTube’s broader strategy to add value to its Premium subscription and encourage more users to convert from the free, ad-supported tier.
This strategy follows other recent experiments, including a test that restricted free users from viewing song lyrics. These efforts appear to be contributing to the growth of Google’s subscription business, which recently reported 325 million paying users across Google One and YouTube Premium.
Relevance for the MENA Region
For the MENA tech ecosystem, YouTube’s adoption of generative AI in a core consumer product has several key implications. With a large, young, and digitally native population, the region is a significant market for YouTube. This new feature is likely to see high adoption rates and could drive further growth in Premium subscriptions across MENA.
Furthermore, the move puts a spotlight on regional streaming platforms. It creates a competitive benchmark, encouraging local players like Anghami to accelerate their own AI integrations, particularly those tailored to the nuances of Arabic music and diverse local tastes. For MENA-based artists and content creators, the AI playlist generator also presents a new avenue for discovery, potentially placing their music in front of new audiences who are exploring genres and moods through AI prompts.
About YouTube
YouTube is the world’s largest online video-sharing and social media platform, owned by Google. It allows users to upload, view, rate, share, add to playlists, report, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users. In addition to user-generated content, it offers media from major corporations, including music videos, movie trailers, and live streams, as well as a subscription-based premium music streaming service, YouTube Music.
Source: TechCrunch
