YouTube Music is testing an AI-powered ‘Ask for music any way you like’ feature

YouTube Music is stepping up its game with an exciting new AI feature that lets users create custom radio stations just by asking. Spotted by an eagle-eyed Reddit user, kater_pro, this experimental feature is currently rolling out to a lucky few.

When fully launched, the new feature will introduce an "Ask for music any way you like" card on the Home feed. This card, displayed in vibrant purple and pink hues, is similar in appearance to the existing "Create a radio: Your music tuner" card in the Library tab. Selecting this card will create a chat-based interface where users can request music via voice or keyboard.

For instance, a request for "Queer Hip Hop Beats" produced a station the AI described as "Rhymes and flows from the heart, a celebration of queer pride in hip hop's art." The interface also offers a variety of suggested prompts such as "Catchy pop choruses," "Epic soundtracks," and "Upbeat pop anthems," with a "Surprise me!" option for a randomly generated station.

After a prompt is entered, the AI generates a radio station, which appears in the familiar playlist card format. The station is named after the prompt and marked "Created for you," with a description to match. YouTube Music has added a note cautioning users that "AI-generated responses are experimental," indicating that the quality and accuracy of responses may vary. It also advises against sharing personal or confidential information.

While it's still being tested by a few lucky users, it'll be interesting to see how well YouTube Music's foray into generative AI playlist-making stacks up against Spotify's own endeavors.