YouTube tests AI search mode that ‘feels more like a conversation’

Google is determined to force AI search into as many of its products as possible, and the latest victim is YouTube. A new feature called Ask YouTube will let you ask complex questions and get « comprehensive results that include video and text, then ask for follow-ups to dive deeper, » Google explained on its YouTube Labs page. The experimental feature is available from today until June 8 for Premium US subscribers 18 and older.

To use it, first activate the feature in your account. Then click the new « Ask YouTube » button in the search bar and you’ll see prompt suggestions, or you can type in your own, like « plan a 3-day trip between San Francisco and Santa Barbara. » Once you have the results, you can try follow-up questions or choose from the suggested prompts to explore further.

As shown in The VergeA quick test of the quick « A brief history of the Apollo 11 moon landing » brought up a summary of the mission, along with videos and timestamps for relevant information. Additional queries returned similar results, but some queries simply returned a list of videos, as you would see with a classic YouTube search. As happens with AI, one of the searches (around the Steam Controller) gave factually incorrect information, according to The VergeIt’s Jay Peters.

Tech companies love AI much more than the public, and YouTubers are especially passionate about hating AI-generated slop. YouTube’s AI search feature can do better for subscribers, but only if it helps them find quality content faster.