Google Working On Two New Gen AI Features On YouTube: What Is It?

The US-based tech giant Google is reportedly testing at least two new generative AI features designed to improve the YouTube viewing experience. A limited group of YouTube users will have the opportunity to try out these new additions during Google’s testing phase.

According to MacRumors, for YouTube videos with extensive comment threads, artificial intelligence will categorise them into themes or topics, making it easier to engage in discussions. Creators can use these comment summaries to participate in conversations or gain inspiration for new content.

It’s important to note that these topics are pulled from published comments, and will not be created from comments held for review or that include blocked words.

This comment test feature is currently available on mobile devices, and users with access will see a star icon on select English videos.

Additionally, YouTube is introducing a conversational AI tool that can provide answers to questions related to the video being watched.

It can offer background information, suggest related content, and more, all without interrupting video playback. For academic videos, this AI can even provide quizzes and responses to encourage a deeper understanding of the content.

Access to the conversational AI feature is currently limited to a small number of users on a subset of videos, and those with access will see a star icon denoting its availability.

While these options are being tested by some users, YouTube Premium subscribers have the option to opt in for these new features, as YouTube Premium subscriptions include access to experimental features.

As per MacRumors, Comment topics are already available to premium members, while the conversational AI feature will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

In related news, Google will now allow its Workspace users to make direct 1:1 calls moving forward. Until now, Workspace users had to create a meeting link ahead of the actual meeting, which was then shared as a calendar invite through email or chat. But now, users can make ‘cloud-encrypted 1:1 video calls’ to other users through the Meet mobile app.