YouTube is testing a new ‘Ask YouTube‘ feature directly within its Shorts player globally, allowing users to pose questions about the content they are watching.
The experiment aims to enhance viewer engagement and content discovery by integrating the artificial intelligence-powered question-and-answer tool into the short-form video format on various platforms.
The test is limited to viewers aged 18 and older and will be available in English across desktop, television and mobile devices, according to YouTube.
Viewers can access the feature by tapping a sparkle icon on select Shorts, which will present pre-populated prompts or allow them to ask free-form questions about the video.
This initiative expands upon the existing ‘Ask YouTube‘ functionality already available on the watch page for standard, longer-form videos.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of YouTube’s parent company Alphabet, reported that over 140 million users engaged with the watch-page version of ‘Ask YouTube’ in June.
In conjunction with the Shorts test, YouTube is also bringing the search version of ‘Ask YouTube’ to mobile devices for users in the United States, accessible across web browsers, mobile applications and televisions.
New mobile feeds for Android and iOS are also being introduced to help viewers discover similar creators, related Shorts and explore topics based on their watch history.
These new discovery features are designed to further personalize the viewing experience and increase interaction within the YouTube ecosystem.
Source: Search Engine Journal
