YouTube rolls out AI-powered search and conversational tools

New Delhi: YouTube has announced the launch of two new AI-driven features, changing how users discover and interact with content on its platform. 

These updates include an AI-powered search results carousel and an expanded conversational AI tool, both designed to make video discovery faster and more intuitive, particularly for mobile users. 

The move signals YouTube’s ongoing push to integrate advanced AI technologies, powered by Google’s Gemini models, into its ecosystem, aligning with broader industry trends toward AI-enhanced user experiences.

The AI-powered search results carousel, currently available to YouTube Premium subscribers in the United States, introduces a dynamic way to explore content. When users search for topics like “best beaches in Hawaii” or “budget travel,” a scrollable carousel appears below the search bar, featuring curated video clips and AI-generated topic summaries. 

These snippets, drawn from creator content, provide quick insights into activities, locations, or products, allowing users to preview relevant videos before diving in. For example, a search for “best workout routines” might showcase clips of top exercises with brief descriptions, streamlining the discovery process. The feature, exclusive to iOS and Android devices, is in a trial phase until July 30, 2025, with potential expansion to other regions and users based on feedback.

Complementing this, YouTube is expanding access to its conversational AI tool, previously limited to Premium subscribers. In the coming weeks, select non-Premium users in the US will gain access to this feature, which allows viewers to interact with videos in real time. 

By tapping a “Sparkle” icon alongside the Like, Share, and Download buttons on Android devices, users can ask questions like “What’s the song in this video?” or request summaries and related content recommendations. 

The tool is particularly useful for educational content, enabling users to quiz themselves on key concepts or dive deeper into topics. YouTube reports that Premium users have already embraced the feature for its ability to enhance learning and engagement, and the company anticipates a broader rollout following the testing phase.

These updates come amid concerns from creators and publishers about the impact of AI-driven tools on traffic and revenue. Similar to Google’s AI Overviews, which have reduced clicks to external sites, YouTube’s AI carousel could potentially divert views from full videos, as summaries and clips may satisfy user queries directly. 

A recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted that Google’s AI tools have caused significant traffic drops for news publishers, and some YouTube creators fear a similar fate. 

Despite these concerns, YouTube emphasises that the features aim to “make it easier to dive deeper, learn faster, and find what you’re looking for,” positioning the platform as an AI-enhanced learning and discovery platform.

On the creator side, YouTube is also introducing AI tools to boost content creation. At the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, CEO Neal Mohan announced the integration of Google DeepMind’s Veo 3, a text-to-video AI model, into YouTube Shorts later this summer. This tool will allow creators to generate short-form videos from text prompts, opening new creative avenues. With YouTube Shorts already averaging over 200 billion daily views, this move underscores the platform’s focus on AI-driven innovation to maintain its competitiveness.