Spotify has rolled out a major upgrade to its AI-powered ‘DJ’ feature, enabling Premium subscribers to make live music requests by voice.

First introduced in late 2023, DJ saw listener engagement nearly double over the past year, and now the service responds directly to commands like “Give me some chill indie” or “Play me some electronic beats for a run”.

The feature, which is available in English across more than 60 markets including Australia, combines machine-learning recommendations with insights from Spotify’s global editorial teams.

To use the feature, users select the DJ mix from the search bar, then press and hold the DJ button in the corner of the Now Playing screen. After a prompt tone, they can speak requests specifying genre, mood, activity or artist.

The DJ’s response takes into account a listener’s history and stated preferences, updating the set in real time. If unsure what to ask, a quick tap skips to the next automated segment, while another long press opens the mic for a new request.

The new voice-control capability is still in beta, so it won’t handle non-music tasks like podcasts or audiobooks yet.