YouTube Launches AI-Powered Search Carousel for Premium Users, Enhancing Content Discovery but Raising Creator Concerns

YouTube is introducing new AI-powered features to enhance the user experience and make content discovery more efficient, the company announced on Thursday. Among these updates is an AI-powered search results carousel, closely resembling Google’s AI Overviews, and an expansion of its conversational AI tool. The AI-powered search results carousel is initially available to YouTube Premium users in the United States. This feature will provide users with a curated selection of videos and brief AI-generated descriptions, helping them quickly find relevant content. For instance, if a user searches for “best beaches in Hawaii,” the carousel will showcase snippets from videos featuring top snorkeling spots and volcanic beaches, accompanied by concise descriptions and additional video recommendations to aid in trip planning. This new feature mirrors Google’s AI Overviews, which offer AI-generated summaries at the top of Google Search results. While it promises to streamline search and discovery for users, it may pose challenges for content creators. If users can obtain the information they need directly from the carousel, they might bypass clicking on the full videos, potentially reducing views and engagement—key metrics for monetization on the platform. These concerns are not unfounded, given that a recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted how Google’s AI Overviews and similar tools have significantly reduced traffic for news publishers. YouTube creators may fear that similar consequences could follow, leading to lower engagement and, consequently, lower earnings. In addition to the search results carousel, YouTube is broadening access to its conversational AI tool. Initially launched in late 2023, this tool uses advanced language models to provide users with more detailed information, content recommendations, and summaries of videos. It also offers a self-quizzing feature for educational content, allowing users to test their understanding of key concepts. The conversational AI tool is now being made available to some non-Premium users. Its functionalities include summarizing videos, recommending related content, and answering specific user queries. For example, if someone is watching a roller skating dance tutorial, they can ask the AI to summarize the video, recommend other tutorials, or even answer questions like “What’s the song in this video?” The tool will then provide the song title, artist, genre, and additional details. YouTube emphasizes that the AI tool's responses are derived from information found on the platform and the broader web, designed to enrich the viewing experience. However, the balance between enhancing user convenience and maintaining creator engagement remains a delicate one, which the company will need to navigate carefully.