Voice-enabled ads come to Spotify – Marketing

Spotify recently announced it was launching voice-enabled ads, a feature that will make it possible for listeners on the streaming platform to interact with ads with their voice.

The new Spotify voice enabled ads functionality which is currently being tested for users in the United States, will make it possible for the user to say a prompt word “play now” to be redirected to relevant advertisement Content.

Spotify had revealed during its earnings call with investors last week that the company will be increasing investments in voice technology. The new voice-enabled ads feature looks like the 1st step in that direction.

Spotify voice enabled ads is still in the test stage.

Spotify is currently using 2 ads for that purpose: a Spotify podcast titled “Stay Free: The Story of the Clash”, & an ad for Unilever’s Axe products. By saying the keyword, users will be directed to the advert.

Spotify says the focus is only on ads within its own service although there feature might find application for directing users to external ads in the near future.

The feature is currently being tested for some sets of Spotify users in the United States & would only work for those that have enabled voice controls on their Spotify settings.

However, for this feature, your microphone will only be active while the ad is playing & will only respond to the trigger phrase.

Anything else you say will deactivate the mic. Users will be able to disable the feature entirely if they want to by using the Spotify “Voice Enabled Ads” toggle button in their settings menu

It seems Spotify is looking to concentrate some efforts into voice commands & virtual assistants which the company believes will be a critical area of growth to watch in coming years.