The annual Made on YouTube event just wrapped, offering an early look at what features you can expect from Google’s dominant online streaming platform in the coming months. Yes, there’s plenty of AI for both viewers and creators, but there’s also a handful of non-AI updates mixed in there.
YouTube’s homepage design is often criticized, but the platform is gearing up to give you more options. With Custom Feeds, you can add new tabs to the YouTube interface with the content of your choice. To create a feed, simply write a description and let YouTube populate the page. You can refine your description and rate video suggestions to fine-tune your personalized feed. Google says you’ll be able to save “multiple” feeds without specifying the exact number. This feature will be rolling out soon in the US for internet, mobile and TV users.
Engagement on YouTube will also change later this year. The platform will finally add the option to post GIFs in comments, which has apparently been a common request for some time now. The comment box will allow you to search for popular animated thumbnails and post them to both regular and short YouTube videos. YouTube’s direct messaging feature also adds support for group chat, but to start it will only be available in the US, UK, Singapore, Brazil, and some European countries.
YouTube will also likely prompt you to chat with a bot more often. The AI-powered Ask YouTube feature isn’t new, but it’s getting several new features that will make it more prominent across the platform. AI will take on a conversational role in product review videos, allowing you to type or use voice commands to get more information about a product. In search, Ask YouTube can also offer organized video recommendations and product comparison tables.
The musical version of this AI is also expanding. Ask Music is getting more prominent placement in the YouTube Music app, right at the top where search used to be (it recently moved to a tab at the bottom). Ask Music can create or edit playlists and tell you about an artist. It will also show suggestions throughout the app, such as when you’re creating a mix.
