YouTube recently announced it will start experimenting with new AI capabilities aimed at enhancing the user experience. The video platform unveiled two small-scale pilots focused on leveraging AI to improve video comments and provide helpful information.
The first experiment involves using AI to summarize long comment sections on select long-form videos into key topics. This feature condenses sprawling conversations into digestible themes, helping viewers quickly understand popular discussion points. It also assists creators by highlighting trending comment subjects to inform future content.
YouTube said the AI scans published comments only, avoiding held, blocked or inappropriate content. Creators can remove any unwanted computer-generated topics. The capability is currently being tested on a small number of English videos with substantial comments.
The second pilot is a conversational AI tool that appears under certain videos. This will let viewers ask questions about the video's content to dive deeper into the subject matter without pausing the video. The tool can provide video recommendations, quizzes for educational content, and other responses aimed at enriching the viewing experience.
Both features are now only available to a very limited test group. However, some YouTube Premium subscribers will be able to opt-in to test out the new features on the YouTube Experiments page. The platform emphasized the pilots are experimental, saying it will collect user feedback to improve the AI capabilities before wider releases.
Earlier this year, YouTube rolled out AI-powered software that helps creators improve thumbnail images and identify popular parts of videos. While still early stage, the new comment summarization and virtual assistant tools demonstrate YouTube's interest in more deeply integrating AI into the core user experience.