Spotify expanded its “Taste Profile” beta to Premium subscribers in the United States on September 23, 2026, marking a shift from passive data collection to a more active dialogue between users and the platform’s recommendation engine. The tool, which was first unveiled at SXSW in March 2026 and tested in New Zealand, allows listeners to view a snapshot of their musical identity and provide direct feedback to the algorithm using natural language.
The feature addresses a common friction point in algorithmic streaming: “algorithmic drift,” where a user’s feed becomes skewed by temporary habits or shared account usage. By opening what has historically been a “black box” of data, Spotify now provides a summary of how it categorizes a user’s preferences across music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Direct Control Through Natural Language
The core of the update is a “Tell us more” input box. Rather than relying on binary “like” or “dislike” buttons, users can type specific instructions to guide the recommendation engine. Prompts such as “show me more experimental pop” or “focus on upbeat jazz for mornings” act as weights for the mathematical model that generates the Home feed and “Made For You” playlists.
According to Spotify Support, these adjustments are not instantaneous but typically begin reflecting in personalized sections of the app within a few hours. This natural language approach replaces the more manual and often hidden “Exclude from Taste Profile” settings that previously required users to toggle individual playlists on or off.
While the tool provides significant agency, it does not currently support absolute rules. Users cannot use the interface to execute hard bans, such as “never play this artist,” or direct actions like “follow this creator.” Instead, the system treats prompts as “guidance” for its weighting system rather than a set of immutable laws.
Eligibility and Technical Constraints
The rollout is currently limited to Premium subscribers aged 18 and older. While the AI-generated summaries describing a user’s taste currently support English and Spanish, the natural language input box only recognizes English prompts at this stage.
The U.S. launch follows a related update on September 15, 2026, where Spotify introduced a “Kids and Family” toggle. That tool was designed specifically to allow users to retroactively scrub family-centric listening from their data, preventing children’s music from influencing adult recommendations.
The company has not yet specified a timeline for a full global rollout or when the beta label will be removed.
