Spotify vs. YouTube Music: Which AI Playlist Generator Actually Works?

Alright, let’s talk AI-generated playlists. Because, let’s be real, sometimes you just don’t wanna spend an hour tweaking a playlist for your next road trip, baking session, or workout. You want to type in a vibe and boom—perfect music, no effort.

Both Spotify and YouTube Music now have AI playlist generators. I tested both to see which one actually gets me—and which one keeps forcing Miley Cyrus on me when I clearly didn’t ask for it.

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Spotify’s AI Playlist: Surprisingly Decent (Mostly)

I’ll admit, I went in skeptical. Spotify’s algorithm already knows me scarily well (how does it always suggest the exact song I’m about to search for?), but AI is a whole different beast.

First Try: “Songs from my top genre released last year”

Spotify gave me:
– A few bangers I already love ✅
– Some deep cuts from artists I like (nice!) ✅
– Five Linkin Park songs (uh… why?) ❌

Okay, weird. I removed the Linkin Park tracks (no hate, just not what I wanted) and hit “Refine this playlist.”

Second Try: “More metal, please”

This time, Spotify added:
– A Rod Stewart & Jools Holland track (swing music… in a metal playlist?) 🤨
– Bon Jovi & The Rolling Stones (classic rock, not metal)

At this point, I laughed. AI is smart, but not genre-savvy. Still, most of the playlist was solid—just needed a little manual cleanup.

The Baking Playlist Test

Next, I tried: “My most popular saved songs for baking cookies.”

Result? A no-skip playlist of crowd-pleasers. Perfect for when friends are over and everyone has strong opinions about music.

But then I removed “baking” and just asked for “My most popular saved songs.” Suddenly, the suggestions got way more niche. Why? No clue. AI works in mysterious ways.

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YouTube Music’s AI: A Comedy of Errors

I don’t use YouTube Music as much as Spotify, so I expected worse results. But… wow.

Same Prompt: “Songs from my top genre released last year”

YouTube Music gave me:
– Artists I’ve never heard of 😐
– Songs I actively dislike (looking at you, Ed Sheeran)

I tried refining: “Only songs from my favorite genre.”

Still got a Miley Cyrus track. Why.

The Baking Playlist (Again)

This time, YouTube Music nailed the first two songs—both were already in my custom baking playlist on Spotify. But then… Miley Cyrus again.

At this point, I wondered if YouTube Music had a personal vendetta against me.

The Big Problem: No Refinement Tools

Unlike Spotify, YouTube Music doesn’t let you:
– Pin songs to keep them in future refinements
– Quickly remove tracks you hate

It’s clunky, and if the AI misses the mark (which it often does), you’re stuck.

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Final Verdict: Spotify Wins (For Now)

Why Spotify’s AI Works Better

✔ Gets my taste (most of the time)
✔ Easy to refine (remove bad songs, tweak prompts)
✔ Actually follows the vibe (except when it throws in random Rod Stewart)

Why YouTube Music Struggles

❌ Ignores my preferences (Miley. Cyrus.)
❌ Clunky interface (hard to fix bad playlists)
❌ Worse suggestions (unless you only listen to top charts)

That said, YouTube Music does some things better than Spotify—like letting you play obscure live versions of songs. But for AI playlists? Spotify’s the clear winner.

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TL;DR:

• Spotify’s AI = Pretty good, needs minor tweaks.
• YouTube Music’s AI = A mess (unless you love top 40).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go delete another Miley Cyrus song from my playlist.