Spotify’s AI DJ Brings a Personalized Listening Experience to Fans in the UK and Ireland
In February we unveiled DJ, a personalized AI guide that understands you and your music taste so well that it does the choosing for you. Now we’re excited to start rolling out DJ in beta to Premium users across the U.K. and Ireland.
At its core, DJ is all about connection and discovery. And thanks to DJ’s powerful combination of Spotify’s personalization technology, generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology in the hands of our music experts, and a dynamic AI voice, listening has never felt so personal.
When we were deciding where to offer DJ next, the U.K. and Ireland just made sense. We have a team of local music experts on the ground in the region, and it’s where some of DJ’s fundamental technology has been developed.
We also know there’s demand: While we’ve seen fans across the globe asking for DJ, it was most commonly requested by users on social media in the U.K. and Ireland.* But don’t just take it from us . . .
When users in the U.K. and Ireland tune in they will be greeted by a stunningly realistic AI voice, modeled after Spotify’s own Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan. Plus, they’ll be served songs and context geared towards them. For example, users who tune in right around launch may hear about how Arlo Parks is releasing her newest album, My Soft Machine, at the end of May alongside her collab, “Phoenix,” with friend and longtime role model Phoebe Bridgers. And when it comes to an engaging listening experience, these moments of relevant context are winning DJ users over.
We’ve found that when DJ listeners hear commentary alongside personal music recommendations, they’re more willing to try something new (or listen to a song they may have otherwise skipped). On days when users tune in, fans spend 25% of their listening time with DJ—and they keep coming back. More than half of first-time listeners come back to listen to DJ the very next day.**
And DJ has especially resonated with Gen Z and Millennials, who make up 87% of DJ users.***
But this is just the beginning. DJ is still in beta, and we’ll continue to iterate and innovate to evolve the experience over time.
Ready to give DJ a try? Just head to your Music Feed on Home in mobile.
