YouTube introduces AI search feature “Ask YouTube” for queries

The experimental feature is currently being rolled out in the United States.

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is expanding artificial intelligence (AI) integration across its products, with YouTube now introducing a new AI-powered search feature.

According to the company, the experimental feature is currently being rolled out in the United States for YouTube Premium users aged 18 and above on a temporary basis.

The new feature, called “Ask YouTube,” allows users to go beyond traditional keyword searches and ask complex questions to receive more comprehensive results, including videos and text-based summaries. It also supports follow-up questions for deeper exploration.

Users will need to manually enable the feature from their account settings. Once activated, a new “Ask YouTube” button will appear in the search bar, offering suggested prompts or allowing users to enter their own queries.

For example, users can ask about road trip ideas for a specific destination and receive curated video lists along with AI-generated summaries.

They can then continue asking related follow-up questions for more detailed information.

The company has not yet announced a timeline for a global rollout of the feature for all users.