Spotify's AI DJ feature, an AI guide that presents personalized music selections, is now available in native languages other than English. On Tuesday, Spotify announced the launch of a Spanish-speaking AI DJ, confirming TechCrunch's previous coverage of the in-development feature. While the original AI DJ “X” voice was modeled after a current Spotify employee (Xavier “X” Jernigan), the Spanish voice is also modeled after a real person — in this case, Olivia “Livi” Quiroz Roa, a senior music editor at Spotify who lives in Mexico City.
Spotify's AI DJ, first released last year, aims to act as a smart audio guide that introduces music with a compelling, lifelike voice. For Spotify, the feature is not only a way to test new AI technology, but also a way to increase music consumption on the app. Internal data shows that DJ users are listening to a lot of music, and usage of the feature has increased by more than 200% over the last year and continues to grow.
The AI DJ itself was built using technology from both OpenAI and Sonantic, an AI voice platform that Spotify acquired in 2022. DJ X was initially chosen to model the AI's voice, with the AI using the same slang and expressions as Jernigan and even mimicking the sound of his voice.
Meanwhile, Spotify said that Lore was chosen as the newest voice of its AI DJ feature after an extensive casting call, during which the company found that her voice resonated the most with listeners. Listeners said that her voice was familiar and that it felt like listening to music recommendations from a friend, the company noted. Spotify said that X will not go away with the release of “Livi,” but rather that customers will be able to choose their preferred AI DJ.
Image credit: Spotify DJ “Livi”
“Spotify has millions of Spanish-speaking listeners, many of whom take to social media to ask questions about DJs,” the company said in a statement. “In fact, in recent months, we've seen social conversation about DJs in Spanish grow by more than 215%,” the company said.
TechCrunch reported on the Spanish-speaking AI DJ feature in May, when new text was added to the app's code referencing DJ Livi, signaling that the feature would be available in Mexico. But Spotify's announcement said Livi would be available to premium listeners in markets where DJ X is already available, as well as other Latin American markets, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
“Livi” is considered in “beta” testing at this time.
To use “Livi,” Spotify Premium subscribers can access the feature through the app's search tab. From there, they need to search for the word “DJ” and press play to start using DJ. To switch between languages for an existing DJ, users need to tap on the three-dot menu within the DJ card and select between English and Spanish.