YouTube ASK Button and Comment Summaries: Latest Updates

If you use YouTube Premium, you can try out two experimental features that will enhance user experience. And even if you don’t want to try it out, you should be aware of these features as they will likely shape the way we search for and consume videos, and how YouTube and Google serve relevant video content to us.

Feature 1 is AI Conversations via the Ask Button. This experiment uses conversational AI to answer questions about videos you’re watching, recommend content, and help you learn – all without interrupting playback. If you create educational content, it’s a better time than ever before to improve the way you ask questions in your content and make sure you are including proper chapter markers and descriptions when publishing.

Feature 2 is YouTube Comment Summaries. With this experiment, AI will organize and summarize published comments so users can get a quick glimpse at common sentiments and reactions. The comments section is a staple feature of YouTube, with many users scrolling to the comments before they’ve completed a video to see what others are saying, share their own thoughts, or see if someone else noticed the same thing they noticed. It’s practically a tradition to comment “Still watching this in 2023!” when you visit an old video or song from many years ago. 

This feature is an interesting way to summarize what the community is saying, though I wonder if it will create a sort of bandwagon effect. What do you think?

P.S. More than 3 dozen YouTube Updates were announced last week. Check them out!