YouTube Rolls Out New AI Features, Starting with Premium
YouTube is significantly increasing its integration of artificial intelligence into its platform, introducing new features designed to enhance how users find and interact with video content. This move aligns with Google’s broader strategy of weaving advanced AI capabilities, often powered by its Gemini models, across its suite of services, including those offered through its Google One subscription plans.
While AI tools are increasingly becoming available to a wider user base, YouTube is initially offering one of its most prominent new AI features as an exclusive perk for YouTube Premium members in the United States: an AI-generated search carousel.
The AI-Powered Search Carousel for Premium Users
This new carousel appears directly within the YouTube mobile app’s search results for specific queries. YouTube indicates that it will likely surface for searches related to shopping, places, or things to do in a particular location.
Functioning much like a visual story feed on social media platforms, the carousel presents a curated collection of relevant videos. Users can swipe through these videos horizontally or tap a thumbnail to jump directly to a specific clip. Each video within the carousel is accompanied by a headline and a brief text snippet generated by AI, explaining its relevance to the user’s original search query. YouTube states the aim is to provide “useful insights” upfront, simplifying the discovery process for complex, intent-driven searches.
This Premium-exclusive feature represents Google’s ongoing efforts to bundle enhanced AI experiences into its paid subscription tiers, a strategy also seen with advanced features in Google One AI Premium plans, which integrate tools like Gemini Advanced and NotebookLM for enriched research and productivity.
Conversational AI Tool Expands Access
Beyond the Premium search carousel, YouTube is also expanding the availability of its conversational AI tool. Previously limited to Premium subscribers on Android devices, this AI assistant is now rolling out to standard, non-Premium users in the US.
Accessible via an “Ask” button located in the toolbar below a video (between the share and download options), this tool allows users to engage with the video content itself. You can ask questions directly related to what’s in the video, get a quick AI-generated summary before committing to watching, or request recommendations for similar videos.
This conversational AI draws information from both YouTube’s vast library and the wider web, showcasing Google’s ambition to make its AI tools versatile information providers. However, the specifics of this wider rollout, including how many users will get it and when it might arrive for iPhone users, remain unclear.
Navigating the Evolving Landscape of AI Integration
YouTube’s rapid integration of AI reflects the industry-wide push to leverage these technologies, but it also comes with questions about user experience and the reliability of AI-generated content. The original title alluded to “AI clutter,” suggesting a potential concern about the volume and presentation of AI results.
Furthermore, Google has faced scrutiny regarding the accuracy of AI Overviews in its main search engine, prompting refinements. Similarly, other AI features, like the Ask Photos tool, required adjustments after their initial rollout to improve performance and integration with existing search functions. While YouTube aims for “useful insights” with its AI carousel and accurate summaries with its conversational tool, the performance and user reception of these features in practice will be closely watched.
As Google continues to refine its AI capabilities and its subscription bundling strategies – a complex area given the current state of Google One plans – these new YouTube features mark a significant step in how the platform will utilize artificial intelligence to shape video discovery and consumption.
