YouTube Tests AI-Powered Search Clips
YouTube is experimenting with a new AI-powered feature to enhance search results for its Premium users in the US. This feature generates a carousel of short video clips related to a user's search query.
Currently in a limited test phase, this AI-driven approach aims to provide more relevant and helpful results than traditional keyword matching. Instead of showing full videos based solely on keywords, the AI identifies key moments within videos that directly address the user's search intent.
How it Works
After entering specific search queries, users may see a carousel of clips highlighting relevant sections of videos. YouTube explains that this feature is designed to be particularly useful for product research (e.g., "best noise canceling headphones") and location-based searches (e.g., "museums to visit in San Francisco").
"We're experimenting with a new video results carousel that appears after entering certain search queries. This new feature will use AI to highlight clips from videos that will be most helpful for your search query, providing another way to discover content when searching on YouTube as well as discover topics and information related to your search query." - YouTube
This approach differs from AI-generated text summaries currently used in Google Search. Instead, YouTube's AI focuses on surfacing existing video content in a more targeted way.
Limited Availability
For now, this feature is available to a small group of YouTube Premium members in the US and applies to select English search queries. While the impact on overall search discovery remains to be seen, it represents another step in YouTube's ongoing efforts to leverage AI for a better user experience.
