Spotify has launched its AI-powered Taste Profile feature in the US, allowing users to directly shape the recommendation algorithm. The feature, which has begun a broader test with listeners aged 18 and over, was first offered in New Zealand as part of a beta program. Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström introduced the tool at the SXSW conference in Austin in March.
Taste Profile shows users how the platform creates music and podcast recommendations, including Discover Weekly, Made for You playlists and Spotify Wrapped. Users can edit their profiles to request more diverse recommendations and indicate that they want to see more or less of a particular genre, artist or general musical mood. This can reduce the influence of content that users do not want recommended again even if they listen to it regularly, such as sleep sounds or youth music played in the car on a parent’s account.
Spotify had previously offered options to exclude specific tracks or playlists and had also added a toggle to prevent children’s music from affecting parents’ recommendations.
In the mobile app, the tool can be accessed by tapping the profile photo, scrolling down and selecting Taste Profile. Users can see how Spotify assesses their tastes in music, podcasts and audiobooks, and submit requests for changes through the “Tell us more” section. Recommendations on the home page are updated within a few hours.
The feature can be used to discover new genres or eras, select more energetic tracks, and shape podcast and audiobook recommendations. Taste Profile is still in beta, and Spotify has not provided a date for wider availability.
Why it matters
This step makes user preferences more visible and editable within Spotify’s personalization system, limiting the extent to which recommendations rely solely on past listening behavior. The ability to address the issue of content listened to on shared accounts or for specific purposes affecting the overall perception of a user’s tastes represents a practical change for different user groups. The fact that the adjustments are not limited to music means that podcasts and audiobooks can also be shaped within the same personal preference framework. However, since the feature is still in beta, it is unclear to what extent and how consistently these settings will be reflected across all surfaces of the recommendation system. Spotify’s failure to provide a date for wider availability also indicates that access remains limited for now.
Background
Spotify is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 8 stories mentioning the name in the past 90 days, the most recent dated September 24, 2026.