YouTube is testing two experimental generative AI features designed to enhance user engagement.
These experimental features, which are currently available to a select group of YouTube Premium members, integrate artificial intelligence into the viewing experience on YouTube, offering innovative ways to navigate and interact with video content and its associated comments.
Comment topic summaries with generative AI break the comment sections on long-form videos into concise, thematic snippets.
Screenshot from YouTube, November 2023This feature aims to help viewers quickly grasp the essence of comment discussions and allows creators to easily engage with their audience’s feedback or to glean insights for future content creation.
Creators also retain control over the summarized topics by having the ability to delete individual comments tied to a particular theme.
This test is being conducted on limited English-language videos with extensive comment activity.
The second feature being tested is a conversational AI tool that operates alongside video playback, providing answers to queries about the video, suggesting related content, and, for certain educational videos, offering quizzes to reinforce learning.
Screenshot from YouTube, November 2023This tool promises a more interactive and uninterrupted viewing experience by allowing viewers to ask questions or select from provided prompts without pausing the video.
Initially, the experimental feature is rolling out to a select group of users on specific videos, with plans to expand access to more YouTube Premium members in the U.S. using Android devices in the near future.
These generative AI experiments are part of YouTube’s broader efforts to incorporate AI into its service to provide a more personalized and intuitive user experience.
The company seeks feedback from those accessing these tools to refine and expand their availability.
Interested Premium members can opt-in to test these features at youtube.com/new and are encouraged to share their experiences to help shape the future of YouTube’s AI integration.
Featured image: metamorworks/Shutterstock
