YouTube is adding AI-powered shopping recommendations to Ask YouTube, while introducing custom feeds that let viewers describe the videos they want recommended using natural language. The company also announced new AI tools for creators, expanded shopping features and additional livestreaming options at its Made On YouTube event.
Ask YouTube, its conversational search feature, will now organize product-related results around users’ preferences. When someone searches for a product, the service may produce comparison tables covering different attributes and categories, while follow-up questions can be asked directly from a video’s watch page.
Viewers Can Build Their Own Custom Feeds
YouTube said in its viewer announcement that Custom Feeds will let users describe a feed using prompts, such as requesting podcasts for a 30-minute commute or relaxing commentary videos. Users can provide detailed instructions about what content to include, exclude or prioritize.
Google’s Gemini AI will generate the recommendations, and users can save multiple feeds as separate tabs on the YouTube homepage. The feature will begin rolling out across web, mobile and TV in the U.S., while the main recommendation feed will remain available.
YouTube said more than 140 million people used Ask YouTube to get additional information about videos in June, up more than 500% from December. The system uses a custom Gemini model that can connect questions with specific points inside videos.
Creators Get More AI Tools and Shopping Options
YouTube is also adding several features to YouTube Studio. Its new creator tools include personalized feedback on draft videos, alternative titles and thumbnails, performance analysis and recommendations based on a channel’s previous content and audience responses.
Creators will eventually be able to test three different video cuts, while Dynamic Thumbnails will choose among uploaded options depending on which is expected to interest a particular viewer. With permission, Ask Studio can also monitor older videos and test updated thumbnails.
YouTube is expanding AI-powered product tagging as part of its shopping tools. Its affiliate program is expected to reach 35 countries by the end of 2026, while support for tagging Amazon products is expanding beyond the U.S.
Live Videos Gain Dubbing and Creator Matchmaking
YouTube will begin testing real-time automatic translation for livestreams in early 2027, according to its Live announcement. Creators will also be able to find other people who are currently streaming and start co-hosted broadcasts through live creator matchmaking.
A separate Live Showdown feature will let co-hosts compete while viewer chats, gifts and Super Chats contribute to their scores. YouTube said more than 600 million logged-in viewers watched live content, including archived streams, on an average day in August 2026.
Viewing habits are also shifting toward televisions. More than half of YouTube’s top 100 creators now have TV as their most-watched interface, while microdramas generated more than 6.5 billion views during the first half of 2026 and saw TV views increase 90% year over year.
Featured image credits: Relevance
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