YouTube is now deeply integrating generative AI into its platform. The first major step in this direction is the YouTube AI Search feature, currently launched only for Premium users. This new system is not only going to completely change the way videos are searched, but it could also directly impact video views, engagement, and creators' earnings.
What is the YouTube AI Search Feature?
Under this new AI feature from Google, users will now get an automatic AI-summary with every video. This means that the user doesn't need to play the video; the AI will already show the main summary of that video. This summary will appear at the top of the video, at the beginning of the search results, where the user can click on that specific section to directly watch the video from that point.
This feature is currently only being offered to YouTube Premium users, that too in experimental mode. This means users have to manually turn on this AI feature in YouTube's settings.
Who Will Benefit?
According to YouTube, this feature has been activated for a limited number of premium users in the US. In the future, it may also be given to some non-premium users. The company says that this feature will benefit the most those who watch educational content, want to take quizzes, or want a quick understanding of a subject. Such users will be able to quickly scan the key parts of the video and watch it according to their needs.
A Cause for Concern for Video Creators
This AI-summary feature may increase the difficulties for content creators on YouTube. Until now, watching a video in its entirety increased user engagement, which led to an increase in the channel's watch time, comments, likes, and subscriptions. But now, if the user is satisfied by reading the video summary, then there will be no need to watch the entire video.
This means that video view count, ad revenue, and the overall growth of the channel could be negatively affected. This change is likely to bring a major shift in users' viewing patterns, which will directly affect creators' earnings.
The Impact of AI Search Has Also Been Seen on Other Platforms
The trend of AI-based search has recently been seen in web browsing. As generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity have become popular, there has been a significant decline in traditional website traffic. According to a recent report, news and blog websites are getting about 96% less traffic than before due to AI-Search.
Google's Senior Vice President Elizabeth Reid claimed that where AI overviews appear, the quality of traffic is better and users spend more time on the page. But YouTube's format is different, where views and watch time are the backbone of creators' earnings. In such a situation, the AI displaying a summary of the video can become a challenge for them.
Veo 3: A New AI Tool for YouTube Shorts
YouTube is not limited to just AI search on its platform. Another big step is the new AI video generation model called Veo 3, which has been specially developed for Shorts videos. With the help of this AI system, users will be able to create cinematic quality videos without a camera or editing tools, in which dialogues, sound effects, and music can be added beforehand.
Veo 3 has been trained from selected parts of YouTube's library of approximately 20 billion videos. This means that the AI will now be able to learn on its own and create new videos. This feature can benefit small creators, but it will increase competition in the market.
Technology Associated with AI Search and a Glimpse of the Future
AI search is a glimpse of the future of YouTube, where technology will not only be limited to watching and listening, but will completely change the way content is understood and delivered to the user. In the future, it is possible that a user will only type their query and be directly sent to the part of the video where their answer is available.
This will save the user's time, but the video watch duration and the time spent on the platform may decrease. This change will directly affect YouTube's algorithm, creator ranking, and monetization system.
