YouTube Rolls Out Two New AI Features for Personalized Content Curation
YouTube has introduced two new AI-driven features designed to personalize how users discover content. One allows all US users to create a custom feed via text prompts, while the other generates AI playlists exclusively for Premium subscribers on mobile.
Custom Feed Feature: "Your Custom Feed"
This feature lets users generate a personalized video feed by entering a text prompt. The feed is designed to reflect a user's interests, hobbies, or daily routines and can be pinned to the top of the YouTube homepage for quick access.
How it works:
- Users access the feature by tapping the "Your custom feed" chip at the top of the homepage.
- Users can enter a prompt, such as "15-minute HIIT workouts that don't need any equipment and zero jumping" or "deep-dive tech podcasts to learn more about using AI for work."
- The prompt can be edited at any time to regenerate the feed.
- The feature requires YouTube search and watch history to be enabled.
Availability:
The feature is rolling out to signed-in viewers in the United States on both mobile and desktop platforms. It is currently available in English.
AI Playlist Generator for Premium Subscribers
Separately, YouTube has launched an AI-powered playlist generation feature for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscribers. This feature is available on iOS and Android devices.
How it works:
- Users navigate to the Library tab, tap the "New" button, and select the "AI playlist" option.
- Playlists are generated by entering text or voice prompts (e.g., "raging death metal," "sad post rock," or "90s classic hits").
Related Developments
- AI Music Curation History: YouTube previously tested a custom radio station creation feature using prompts in the United States in July 2024.
- Competitors: Other streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer, have also introduced AI-powered playlist or radio generation features. Spotify released a similar Prompted Playlist tool earlier this year.
- YouTube Music Experiment: YouTube has initiated an experiment restricting song lyric viewing for a small percentage of ad-supported users on its YouTube Music app. The company stated that the vast majority of free users still have access to lyrics.
- Subscription Growth: Google reported 325 million paying users across Google One and YouTube Premium earlier this month. YouTube is a significant contributor to the company's subscription business growth.