I want Gemini to be my DJ in YouTube Music

Imagine having your very own DJ in your pocket, ready to mix your favorite songs at a moment’s notice. No, not your dad’s 3-5 second crossfade, but instead a completely customized mix that makes the two songs you’re transitioning between meld together like they were designed that way by the artists themselves. That’s the idea behind Apple Music’s upcoming AI-powered AutoMix feature, which is coming with this fall’s iOS 26 release.

As a former Spotify user and now years-long YouTube Music user, this is the first time I’ve even batted an eye at one of Apple’s few Android apps. I’m not really a big fan of the old-school cross-fade functionality, but this is different. Google is consistently adding Gemini-powered features across all of its verticals — including in the main YouTube app — but so far, we haven’t seen much of this AI prowess in YouTube Music. AutoMix is a seemingly small Apple Music feature with big implications, and I have some ideas on how Google can bring its super-powered Gemini experience into its music app.

DJ Apple, spin that track!

Apple first announced AutoMix back in June at this year’s WWDC, its annual developer’s conference. In its own words, this feature uses “time stretching and beat matching to deliver continuous playback and an even more seamless listening experience.” Marketing jargon aside, there is a clear difference that you can hear with AutoMix enabled when compared to the standard cross-fade. Details on how the feature works are sparse, but shortly after the iOS 26 developer beta was released, videos of AutoMix in action quickly began circulating on all the major social media platforms. For me at least, I was intrigued the moment I heard it in action.

Because AutoMix is not a database of pre-mixed songs and is instead powered by AI, the mixing experience can vary from user to user. Occasionally, the mixes are pretty underwhelming — remember, this is still just a beta software — but more often than not, it doesn’t just work, it sounds magical. It adds an entirely new dimension to your music listening experience. I would note here that right now, AutoMix seems to work best when the two songs are from a similar genre or have a similar number of beats per minute. That said, I’d imagine this will only improve in the future.

AutoMix isn’t an entirely new concept. In fact, Spotify released their own take on this feature years ago under the exact same name. It, too, appears to use beat matching to determine the best way to transition between songs, but from examples I’ve seen and user commentary I’ve read, Apple’s take appears to be a more advanced version. Perhaps advancements in AI also allow for an overall better mixing experience.

YouTube Music needs to join the party

I’ve been a YouTube Music convert for years now, and all in all, I’ve been very happy with the service. First and foremost, it’s included with YouTube Premium, which is one reason I believe Google’s subscription is one of the most high-value subscriptions out there. And to Google’s credit, YouTube Music has frequently improved its service, adding new features and making the user interface more appealing and user-friendly.

Google has added Gemini-powered capabilities to just about every corner of its software universe. From YouTube to Google Workspace to Android devices and most everything between, you will likely find some sort of Gemini-enabled feature. And it’s not like we haven’t seen Google dabble in the world of music, either.

Google needs to join the personal DJ party, and this is just the beginning of what they could do with the power of Gemini. AutoMix honestly seems like a small addition as I write about it, but I can’t emphasize enough how different it feels to listen to music with this mixing enabled. It makes for such a satisfying listening experience, and I am more than confident in some form of Gemini powering Google’s version of this.

Let’s take this a little further than this relatively small AutoMix feature. How else could Gemini enhance my music streaming experience? Look no further than Spotify DJ, a feature that’s already been around for a few years in Spotify land. Essentially, Spotify is using AI to generate playlists according to what you already listen to, and it has helped my colleague discover a lot more new music than he used to. Imagine Google’s take on this: a Gemini Live-like DJ that you can talk back and forth with and really fine-tune your taste to find the most relevant music possible.

Here’s the thing: Google is already doing most of the heavy lifting that this type of feature would require. It already has a feature in the Google Discover feed called Daily Listen, where two AI-powered “podcast hosts” serve up a daily short-form podcast with news and information relevant to your interests. And it works incredibly well. Creepy well, if you ask me. And Google already generates playlists based on text input. Gemini could just connect these dots together more efficiently.

Since this is a Gemini Live-like experience, why not just hum something into your mic and have DJ Gemini generate a playlist of songs solely based on the vibes of whatever you’re humming. That sounds both incredible and incredibly doable with the power of Gemini. I feel like we’re only scratching the surface here, and yet, as I already stated, much of this is already being done by Google elsewhere in its services. Now, the YouTube Music team just needs to package this all up for its platform.

Is Apple’s DJ good enough to make me ditch YouTube Music?

Switching music services isn’t exactly fun. The app’s algorithms take time to learn your preferences, and YouTube Music has years of my listening data now, so it has gotten pretty good at suggesting the right music (and podcasts…yes, I use this app for podcasts, too) at the right time.

Is Apple’s AutoMix feature enough to convince me to switch? Only time will tell, especially because we don’t yet have clarity on whether or not this will be an iPhone-only feature, or if it will eventually make its way over to our green bubble world. Since it’s an AI-powered feature, Apple may decide AutoMix can only work on Apple devices and Apple’s chips; I’m not saying it’s not possible for them to bring it to Android, I just wonder whether Apple will use on-device AI as a reason to keep AutoMix exclusive to its devices. That said, I tested the feature out on an iPhone 14 Pro, which doesn’t have access to Apple Intelligence, so I would guess that they’ll bring it to their Android app at some point, and maybe even as soon as this fall when AutoMix officially launches.

For now, I’m sticking with YouTube Music. I’m really confident in Gemini at this point, and it’s only getting better. Bringing more AI into YouTube Music is the logical next step for the evolution of the platform. I remember when Google first launched Gemini — remember Bard? — I was really unsure what to make of Google’s AI. The transition from Google Assistant was really rocky at first, too. But Gemini has gotten really good, and more importantly, the way it has been integrated into Google’s services has become extremely powerful. I use it a lot throughout my day. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see an AutoMix-like feature introduced in YouTube Music, most likely alongside other more advanced Gemini-based features.