YouTube is testing a new AI-powered search feature designed to provide step-by-step answers and curated video results for complex queries. The feature, called "Ask YouTube," aims to help users plan activities like trips or recipes by combining text, short clips, and longer videos in a single interactive result.
When a user asks a question such as "plan a 3-day road trip from San Francisco to Santa Barbara," the system generates a structured response with text, relevant video segments, and links to full videos. Users can also ask follow-up questions, like "Where can I get good coffee?" to refine suggestions.
Initially, the experimental feature is rolling out to U.S. Premium subscribers aged 18 and older. Participants must opt in via YouTube's experimental features page (youtube.com/new). YouTube stated that it is refining the tool based on user feedback and aims to improve content discovery for creators.
The feature marks YouTube's latest push to integrate generative AI into its platform, following earlier experiments with AI-generated video summaries and conversational tools.