Spotify is launching AI-powered features that let users generate their own personal podcasts directly within the app. The feature allows subscribers to create podcasts from ideas or custom prompts, with the ability to schedule daily or weekly briefings on topics they care about. Users can request specific content like daily city updates or five-minute explainers on complex topics, then save the resulting AI-generated audio to their personal library. The company has also developed a desktop application called Studio by Spotify Labs that connects to users' email and calendar accounts to create highly personalized audio briefings. Users will have flexibility in how they generate these podcasts. They can input links, PDFs, and text documents, then select from a range of custom AI voices to narrate the content. The feature draws inspiration from tools like Google's NotebookLM, ElevenLabs Reader, and Huxe, an app developed by former NotebookLM engineers. A command-line tool for Claude Code and Codex was released earlier this month via GitHub, allowing developers to create and save podcasts to their Spotify library, with direct app integration coming soon. The streaming platform is also rolling out an AI-powered Q&A feature for Premium subscribers on mobile devices in the United States, Sweden, and Ireland. Listeners can ask questions about specific episodes or concepts discussed in podcasts and receive instant answers. The feature also suggests related podcast recommendations based on user interests. This move positions Spotify to compete with Google's Ask YouTube, which launched earlier in the week. The timing is strategic, as Spotify reports that video podcast streaming has grown 50 percent year-over-year, indicating users want more interactive engagement with audio content. For podcast creators, Spotify is expanding monetization tools with a sponsorship management feature and the ability to charge subscription fees for exclusive content and experiences. This puts Spotify in direct competition with social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, which already offer similar creator subscription models. The new features represent Spotify's broader strategy to move beyond passive content consumption, encouraging users to actively engage with the platform through question-asking and personalized content creation.