How to Use Spotify's AI DJ

Great music has the power to bring people to tears and can change the vibe in a space with a single note, but landing on which tones move who is a supremely personal endeavor. Tastes run the gamut from Enya echoes to adorable video game scores.

Spotify, a digital music streaming service, has developed an AI-powered robot DJ aimed to help listeners find their musical sweet spots without the hassle of wading through unknown, and possibly crappy, songs and artists. 

Launched in February 2023, the AI DJ, named "X," uses a combination of Spotify's personalization technology to get users into the groove -- AKA the algorithm that suggests new music to users -- and also uses generative AI powered by OpenAI technology, for cataloguing and cumulating the types of songs you like.

It's hard to believe a soulless string of computations could offer up a playlist capable of making many vastly different music lovers shake their rumps on a consistent basis, so I put Spotify's AI DJ through the ringer to see if it has an ear for what moves real human beings.

Here's how to use Spotify's AI DJ.

Set the AI DJ up for success

Make sure you've listened to enough songs on Spotify to give the AI DJ at least a loose idea of how you're sonically inclined. 

If you're starting with a brand new Spotify account, save some of your favorite songs and artists to your library as a first step, unless you're cool with the AI DJ making some wild guesses.

How to access AI DJ X

Tap the search bar in your Spotify app and type "DJ" to bring up a custom made playlist built by DJ X with an audio intro and ongoing voice companion to the selections in the form of the robot itself. Quick trivia: The voice is based on Spotify's head of cultural partnerships, Xavier "X" Jernigan.

Screenshot by Rachel Kane/CNET

This DJ does not take requests

There's no way to directly interact with the AI DJ on Spotify, so you won't have an option to like or dislike songs and artists during the session. You can skip songs, add songs to a playlist or share songs as passive indicators. 

DJ X will periodically pop in to give you some notes on shifts in genres, artists and general vibes when it's making a big course correction.

Screenshot by Rachel Kane/CNET

Give brutal feedback and give it often

Don't suffer with songs not your taste. Saying, "thank you, next" to music you're not feeling will give the AI DJ a signal that you're not in the mood for something, and in my experience giving consistent feedback about music and artists that irk your eardrums gets you a much better result.

Pro tip: tap the small blue and green AI DJ icon on the lower right-hand side of the app to reshuffle the decks if the AI DJ offers up one too many duds.

Create lots of playlists

When the AI DJ rubs you the right way, reward the robot by adding songs to frequented playlists and your library of songs. Try to curate playlists according to things like mood, genre and artist so the AI DJ has more to go on.

Don't be worried about permanently altering the AI DJ's suggestions with your wanton tapping and skipping. Spotify's AI DJ is best used when the mood strikes for a mix of old favorites and discovering new treasures. 

Like a real-life disc jockey, DJ X is all about reading the room and creating unique soundscapes in the moment.