YouTube Tests Expanded AI Discovery, Broadens Access to its In-Stream Chatbot

YouTube’s adding new AI search results which will help to guide your discovery process in the app, while it’s also expanding access to its in-stream AI chatbot tool, as another means to maximize in-app discovery.

First off, on YouTube’s new AI-powered search. YouTube’s new AI discovery element will give you a new carousel of results in-stream based on your query, which will suggest additional videos and topics that are aligned with your search.

As you can see in these examples, the new AI search element will give you a range of videos to choose from for certain queries, which could help you dig deeper into the topic via various contextual markers.

As explained by YouTube:

“Imagine searching for ‘best beaches in Hawaii’ – you could see an AI-generated carousel highlighting clips from videos showcasing the best snorkel spots and volcanic beaches, complete with descriptions and more videos to plan your ideal day.”

That could help creators get more views on certain clips, by showcasing a wider range of content based on expanded understanding of your initial query.

And as you can see in the second example above, it’ll also open up new promotional opportunities as well, with product matches also aligning with related searches.

That’s not being offered as an ad option as yet, but you can see where it’s headed, while YouTube also hopes that it’ll make it easier for users to get more info on certain topics, via expanded video matching.

Though I’m not sure that it’ll add a heap. I mean, really, it’s just Google Search matches within a YouTube context, and most people are already able to hone in their searches on relevant elements. Do you really need expanded Search results on YouTube as well?

Maybe it adds something, but I’m not sure that it’ll drive a heap of expanded discovery, though YouTube does note that it’s currently limited to travel and shopping-related searches, and in those specific contexts, there could be value.

YouTube says that it’s now testing the new option for selected queries with YouTube Premium subscribers in the U.S.

On a related front, YouTube’s also expanding its conversational AI tool within the playback UI to non-Premium subscribers.

Which has been around for a while. Originally launched with selected users back in 2023, YouTube’s in-stream chatbot enables viewers to ask questions about a video, in order to dig deeper into certain topics.

As you can see in these example screens, YouTube’s conversational AI bot is accessible via an “Ask” button below video clips. When you tap on the “Ask” prompt, the bot then provides suggestions for questions that you may be interested in based on the clip that you’re watching, while you’re also able to enter your own prompts to explore additional topics.

YouTube expanded access to the bot to all Premium subscribers on Android last September, and now, it’s bringing it to non-paying users also:

“In the coming days, our conversational AI tool will be expanding to some non-Premium users in the US. Premium members already love it for getting more info, recommendations, and even quizzing themselves on key concepts in academic videos. Try it out to discover new videos or master unknown topics.”

So not everyone will get access to the bot straight away, but it seems likely that YouTube will be rolling it out to everyone eventually, providing another means to engage with YouTube content.