- YouTube Music is testing a new feature that’s similar to Spotify’s AI DJ
- More users are getting access and the initial reaction has been mixed
- Beta testers have praised its music trivia interjections and unintrusive commentary, but there’s still room for improvement
YouTube Music is lagging behind other music streaming services when it comes to features like Spotify’s AI DJ, but it’s just started rolling out its own radio-style trick to beta testers as part of its YouTube Labs initiative.
At the moment YouTube Labs is only accessible to a limited number of Premium beta testers in the US, and we don’t know when this program will be available in other markets. However, more users are starting to get their hands on YouTube Music’s AI host – and despite the disregard for AI music streaming features in general, the reactions have been pretty positive.
When Spotify rolled out AI DJ in 2023, it sparked a huge debate about AI’s presence within music streaming, but was also criticized – especially for its lack of new music recommendations and jarring voiceover. I was one of those critics, but warmed up to it when Spotify introduced its song requests feature. As for YouTube Music, it’s a two-voice host rather than a DJ, but has a similar effect.
Rather than existing as a separate entity in the YouTube Music app, the AI DJ icon appears next to the ‘thumbs up / down’ buttons in the playback screen when you’re listening to radio and mixes. It’s still in its infancy, but users are already gathering their thoughts.
Good news for trivia nerds
The main difference between YouTube Music’s AI host and Spotify’s AI DJ is that it offers “relevant stories, fan trivia, and fun commentary” in your listening session, while Spotify’s AI DJ simply introduces the next segment of songs. Rather than segueing from one song to the next, YouTube Music’s AI host injects music trivia into the voiceover – which is going down well with music nerds.
The most common frustration is its failed attempts at cheesy humor and there are also seemingly some factual inaccuracies (which YouTube has addressed). Others simply hate the concept in general, with Reddit user ‘ptrckl_’ stating “I just wanna listen to my music”. But overall, most testers have expressed their appreciation for the addition of music facts weaved into their streaming experience.
Where users complained about Spotify AI DJ being invasive, the opposite is being said about YouTube Music’s AI host. Instead, some have credited it for its natural interjections and unintrusive commentary. The voices themselves have also been praised, but more seem to be in favor of the female host rather than the male host.
YouTube Music’s answer to Spotify’s AI DJ is far from perfect and is still a beta experiment. But with a few tweaks here and there it could surface as one of the music streamer’s best features. Based on the early reactions from test users, there’s hope for the service’s venture into AI-based experiences – as long as YouTube listens to that user feedback.
Room for improvement
Though YouTube Music’s new feature has largely gone down well, it isn’t the biggest feature that users have been asking for.
In addition to other basic functions such as searching within playlists and volume normalization, some have noted that YouTube has yet to introduce a ‘liked songs’ library, a simple feature on other major platforms.
Not only is YouTube Music seemingly ignoring the small requests from users, it appears that its AI DJ competitor cannot be disabled permanently – at least for now.
Still, in between these common frustrations there’s a surprising wave of support for YouTube Music’s AI host, particularly its commentary, so hopefully a refined version will ultimately get a wider rollout.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
