Spotify is finally letting users take a look under the hood and seize the reins of their recommendations. At Friday's SXSW conference, Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström announced a major update that fundamentally changes how your listening data is shared and influenced by both other users and Spotify's algorithmic model. It's called your Taste Profile, an AI-powered feature that lets you customize what music, audiobooks, or podcasts you want to listen to. It's still in beta for now and will roll out to Premium users in New Zealand first before a wider launch in the coming weeks.
With it, your once-private taste profile is more transparent and easily tweaked than ever. For those of us who treat our Spotify feeds like a digital sanctuary, this shift might feel a bit invasive. But don't worry; now you don't have to let your toddler’s "Baby Shark" phase or your Jam session that went off the rails with one too many sea shanties wreck your recommendations.
Taste Profile surfaces everything Spotify understands about your preferences in one place, such as listening patterns, most-played artists, and preferred genres. Users can then edit this profile and fine-tune Spotify's future recommendations. Training for a marathon? Tell Spotify you want more pulse-pounding, high-energy tunes. Commute dragging on forever? Ask for some new podcasts to listen to. Spotify will tailor future recommendations based on the vibe you want, and change the homepage to reflect these new suggestions. The company added that Taste Profile is an optional feature, and users are free to "leave it and enjoy Spotify as usual."
How to change your Spotify Taste Profile
To check out your Taste Profile, tap on your profile picture in the Spotify app or on desktop. Scroll down and select Taste Profile, where you'll see a breakdown of everything Spotify has gleaned about your tastes. Tweaks can be made using natural language prompts.
This is where Spotify's AI push is headed
Taste Profile is Spotify's second big AI feature to roll out so far this year. Last month, the company brought Prompted Playlist, which lets you put in specific requests to generate a playlist, such as only including shows from a specific show you like, to the U.S. and Canada after testing it out in New Zealand. It signals a larger shift in how Spotify sees algorithmic curation, not as something its users passively engage with but rather another tool in their arsenal to shape their listening experience as they see fit.
Prompted Playlist remains exclusive to Spotify Premium, and Taste Profile is likely going to remain behind that paywall for the time being. There's no word yet one when us plebs will get it.
