YouTube will soon test Ask YouTube inside the Shorts player, letting viewers in the experiment ask questions about the Short on their screen.
YouTube announced on Oct. 12 that viewers “will soon be able to use Ask YouTube directly from the watch page while watching Shorts and live streams.” A Creator Insider video posted the same day describes the Shorts test as a limited, global experiment that’s English only and open to viewers 18 and older. The video’s description also mentions new mobile feeds for finding similar creators and related Shorts.
What YouTube Is Testing
YouTube’s test will put Ask YouTube in the Shorts player on desktop, TV, and mobile. The video’s description reads:
“It’s English only, 18 and older only, but if you’re part of the experiment, you’ll be able to tap or select the sparkle icon on select Shorts and try out pre-populated prompts or ask questions to get details about the Short on your screen.”
The description states that free-form prompts, which are questions viewers compose themselves, are directed to Ask YouTube.
The description also mentions new feeds on Android and iOS, where viewers will be able to “discover similar creators, find related shorts, and explore topics based on your watch history.”
Part Of The Watch-Page Feature
The Shorts test extends the Ask YouTube feature on the watch page, where a button already appears below selected videos. Its help page lists many languages and countries and explains that the feature is available to signed-in users aged 13 and older, or the applicable age in their country, on Android, iOS, computers, and smart TVs.
The Shorts test sets narrower limits on language and age.
In Alphabet’s Q2 earnings remarks, Sundar Pichai shared that over 140 million users engaged with Ask YouTube on the watch page back in June.
The watch-page feature is separate from the search version of Ask YouTube, as I reported in September. YouTube’s Oct. 12 post says it’s bringing the search version to mobile devices, making it available to U.S. viewers across web, mobile, and TVs. The Shorts video’s description doesn’t say where free-form prompts open within Ask YouTube.
Why This Matters
For viewers in the experiment, Ask YouTube could answer questions about some Shorts while they play, as it already does on select videos. YouTube’s new Android and iOS feeds would add a separate way to reach similar creators and related Shorts.
The Creator Insider description doesn’t say how YouTube chooses the “select Shorts,” how the new feeds pick what to suggest, or whether creators get any controls.
Looking Ahead
YouTube’s Oct. 12 post and the Creator Insider description both mention that Shorts support is on its way soon. However, neither provides a specific start date nor specifies which countries will get access. Creators can visit the watch-page help page for more details about Shorts as the experiment begins.
Featured Image: Samuel Boivin/Shutterstock
