YouTube Might Soon Have Video Summaries Thanks to AI

YouTube is testing out two new features that give them AI-generated comment summaries and let them talk to an AI chatbot to ask their questions.

AI to Organize Comment Sections Based on Topic

The first feature will organize large comment sections of long YouTube videos into "easily digestible" themes to help viewers "easily understand and participate in comment conversations."

Participants of the experiment will see a new option to sort comments based on "✨Topics."

Meanwhile, YouTube creators can utilize the new feature to respond and participate in comment discussions on their videos more quickly, or to inspire them to create new content based on what their viewers are saying. 

Additionally, creators part of the experiment may opt to delete comment topics, as well as individual comments under a specific topic. 

"This experiment is running on a small number of videos in English that have large comment sections," the streaming giant wrote. 

In an example provided by YouTube, comments under MrBeast's videos were segregated into "People love Bryan the bird," "Lazerbeam should be in more videos," and "no submarine." 

The feature will be exclusive to Premium subscribers who sign up for the experiments. 

A New Conversational AI Tool

YouTube is also experimenting with a new chatbot-like AI tool that users can converse with and ask questions regarding a specific video. 

Additionally, the chatbot can also recommend content related to a video, and even provide quizzes and responses for select academic videos — all as users watch their videos uninterrupted.

Premium subscribers part of the experiment can use the tool by clicking "✨Ask" under a video and begin asking the chatbot questions or giving it suggested prompts. 

The company is preparing to introduce the experiment to a wider Premium audience in the coming weeks. 

"These features are experimental and we may not always get it right. That’s why we’re starting small with limited availability and collecting feedback," YouTube wrote. 

YouTube Treads Into AI

The new experiments are just two of the video platform's latest efforts in incorporating AI into the viewer experience. 

In August, YouTube was testing an AI tool that quickly generates short summaries of select videos for users to decide whether or not the video is "the right fit" for them.

Earlier this year, it also tested AI-generated quizzes on YouTube mobile users to "make it easier for people to learn about topics they're interested in."

Edited by Nikola Djuric