YouTube has launched a new AI-powered search carousel, which will provide text summaries alongside videos, allowing users to understand essential information without watching the video. This feature is currently available for premium users in the United States.
AI Powered Search Carousel: YouTube, the world's largest video platform, has made a significant AI-based change that will completely revamp the search experience for users. Now, when users search for a topic on YouTube, they will not only see video thumbnails but also an AI-generated text snapshot of the video.
This new arrangement is called the AI-powered search result carousel. This feature is currently in the testing phase for YouTube Premium users in the United States and will be tested until July 30, 2025. YouTube stated in its blog post that this feature will be particularly useful for shopping, travel, and location-based searches.
How will the new carousel layout look?
YouTube's new carousel feature brings a completely new layout:
- At the top, a large video clip will appear, which YouTube is calling the 'Highlighted Video'.
- Below this will be a sliding line of thumbnails of other related videos.
- Below or next to all these videos will be an AI-generated text description, which will briefly provide information related to that topic.
- Users can tap on the large video to play it or click on the thumbnails to choose other options.
AI Text Snapshot: How does it work?
This text description is entirely based on Google's Gemini AI model, according to YouTube. This model analyzes the video's title, tags, metadata, and transcript to prepare a smart summary in a few seconds. This allows users to decide which video is useful for them without playing the video.
This technology is particularly beneficial for users who want to quickly scan content, such as a product review, travel location information, or a short overview of a trending topic.
Which users are getting access?
Currently, this feature has been released with some limitations:
- This feature is only available to YouTube Premium users in the United States.
- It is currently only working on Android and iOS devices.
- This feature will only apply to English-language videos.
- The trial period will run until July 30, 2025. After that, it will be expanded to other regions based on feedback.
Conversational AI also becomes smart
YouTube has also advanced its Gemini-based conversational AI tool. Previously, this feature was limited to Premium users, but now some non-Premium users will also benefit.
- An icon of a Sparkle will now appear next to the Like, Share and Download buttons on the video screen.
- By tapping on it, users can ask questions related to that video, such as:
- 'What is the model of the camera shown in this video?'
- 'Show me more videos like this.'
AI will immediately give accurate answers or suggest similar videos.
What will be the benefit to the users?
- Information before watching the video: AI-summaries will reveal what's in the video.
- Reduced Click-Through Time: Skipping unnecessary videos will be easier.
- Real-time Discovery: Users will be able to make quicker decisions in the snapshot format provided by the carousel.
- Engagement will increase: Smart answers to questions asked through the Sparkle icon will increase engagement.
Potential impact for content creators
While the user experience will improve, YouTube content creators may have some concerns about this change:
- Video views and watch time may be affected if users only read the AI-summary and do not watch the video.
- This could also affect the ad revenue model.
- Although YouTube has not yet provided any clarification in this regard, there is a possibility that an AI preview feature will be added to the Creator Dashboard soon.
The aim of this new carousel feature is to make YouTube more user-friendly and intelligent. If this experiment is successful, the company may launch it in other countries, including India, soon. Along with this, there are plans to expand the carousel to Hindi and other languages in the future.
