When Google shut down its Play Music app in 2020, I switched to Spotify — like many others, almost out of spite, but also because the new platform wasn’t nearly as fully featured as the one it replaced. But nearly four years have passed since then and Spotify’s frequent price hikes have finally made me consider switching to YouTube Music instead. After all, I already have a YouTube Premium subscription for ad-free videos. Just a week into the switch, however, I realized how much I’ve come to rely on Spotify’s recent AI features. And surprisingly, even though Google has made a big deal about AI in recent months, YouTube Music hasn’t witnessed the same pace of innovation.
Case in point: Spotify’s AI DJ became my go-to every time I started a new music session. In case you’ve never used it, the DJ is a relatively new feature that creates a simulated (but personalized) radio station. It analyzes your listening habits to curate a stream of old and new songs. Best of all, an AI voice provides brief commentary about the selections. In my opinion, it’s a fantastic way to discover new music as I’m more likely to connect with unfamiliar tracks after someone introduces them to me.