Google supercharges Play Music with machine learning for smarter recommendations

Google Play Music is getting a much-needed overhaul starting this week, both inside and out.

Its Android, iOS and Web apps are getting a new interface that’s powered by machine learning to recommend music based on what you’re doing and where you are.

You’ve probably seen Google Now deliver contextual cards with information relevant to your location and activities like flying, visiting the gym and commuting. The company’s music service will now use those smarts to bring you suitable playlists for every activity it can reliably detect.

Plus, a combination of machine learning and human curation will allow the app to surface relevant tunes based on your past listening history, such as new releases on Friday or dance music after work hours. You’ll be able to spot these recommendations every time you refresh Play Music’s home screen.

In addition, it’ll also be able to store a number of songs on your device so you can enjoy your playlist even without a connection.

That all sounds pretty nifty, and it’ll be interesting to see if these new features will help Google draw users away from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. The company noted the update will roll out starting this week, so you should be able to try the revamped interface soon.