Lifestyle Reporter.

The streaming service Spotify has finally made its AI DJ feature available for premium South African users, according to a Spotify press release. The feature provides an alternative and more personalised way of listening to music on the application.

An artificial intelligence-generated voice acts as a 'DJ' that speaks between songs, providing personal facts to listeners about what songs are being played. The feature uses listening data to assemble playlists and share details with the listener.

The feature delivers "a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you'll like in a stunningly realistic voice," according to the press release.

The feature will only be available in beta, for testing in its early phase. It can be accessed through the 'Music Feed' portal on Spotify. Users can alter the AI DJ feature based on mood, genre and artists.

The feature launched earlier this year in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland and has enjoyed some popularity. When users are on the app, they spend 25% of their listening time with AI DJ feature, another Spotify press release stated.

The AI voice is modelled after the Spotify head of cultural partnerships Xavier Jernigan.

"Personalisation is at the heart of what we do. When we ask our listeners what they like most about Spotify, more than 81% cite our personalisation," said the release.

The feature is now available in select other countries worldwide. 

*Available markets as of August 8, 2023: Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Canada, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.