Apple Music’s AI Playlists: The Missing Piece in Apple’s Streaming Puzzle

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way we interact with our favorite apps, and music streaming services are no exception. From personalized recommendations to mood-based curation, AI is becoming the backbone of modern music discovery. While platforms like YouTube Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music have already embraced AI-driven playlist generation, Apple Music remains one of the few major streaming services yet to offer this feature natively.

The AI Playlist Revolution

The latest entrant in the AI playlist arena is YouTube Music, which this week began rolling out its AI Playlist feature to Premium and Premium Music subscribers. Accessible via the Library section of the app, this tool allows users to generate custom playlists by simply typing in a genre, mood, artist, or even a vague phrase. Whether you’re in the mood for “chill indie vibes” or “high-energy workout tracks,” YouTube Music’s AI delivers a tailored playlist in seconds.

Not to be outdone, Spotify has been testing its Prompted Playlists feature since January. This AI-powered tool takes text-based requests and crafts playlists based on your listening history, current trends, and charts. Users can refine their prompts with follow-up requests, such as “add deep cuts I haven’t heard yet” or “include high-energy pop for a 30-minute run.” The playlists are dynamic, updating daily or weekly to reflect changing listening patterns.

Amazon Music has also been in the game since 2024 with its Maestro feature, which allows users to build playlists using text prompts and even emoji characters. Described as a tool to help users create “any playlist they can think of,” Maestro is a testament to how AI is making music curation more intuitive and personalized.

Apple Music’s AI Gap

Despite its dominance in the streaming market, Apple Music has yet to offer a native AI playlist feature. While the service has long used AI to generate personalized “For You” playlists, it lacks the ability to create playlists based on user prompts. This omission is particularly glaring given that Apple has been rumored to be working on an Apple Music reboot focused on AI.

Last year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was developing new AI-driven features for Apple Music. While the iOS 26 update brought improvements like the AutoMix feature for seamless song transitions and enhanced lyrics translation, it stopped short of introducing AI playlist generation or deeper Apple Intelligence integration.

With iOS 27 expected to focus on bug fixes and tweaks, there’s hope that Apple will finally bring AI-powered playlist creation to Apple Music. Until then, users can turn to ChatGPT for playlist generation. ChatGPT’s integration with Apple Music allows it to make recommendations and create playlists based on user prompts, though it lacks access to listening history for true personalization.

The Future of Music Discovery

As AI continues to evolve, the line between human curation and machine-generated playlists is blurring. Services like YouTube Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music are leading the charge, offering users unprecedented control over their music discovery experience. For Apple Music to remain competitive, it’s only a matter of time before it embraces AI playlist generation.

In the meantime, the battle for AI supremacy in music streaming is heating up, and users are the ultimate winners. Whether you’re a casual listener or a die-hard music enthusiast, the future of music discovery is here—and it’s powered by AI.

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