Ask YouTube Uses AI to Find Exact Video Moments, But Creators May Lose Watch Time

Google's 'Ask YouTube' Finds the Exact Part of a Video That Answers Your Question

Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. Google is expanding YouTube's search capabilities so you can ask more conversational questions -- and jump straight to the most relevant parts of a video. The upcoming feature, called Ask YouTube, brings a dose of Google's AI-powered search results to its video platform. You can make more complex queries like "creator reviews of cozy games to play before bedtime" or "how to teach your kid to ride a bike." YouTube will then show a list of videos, including Shorts, related to that topic. You can also ask follow-up questions to further pinpoint what you're looking for. Taking things a step further, Ask YouTube will jump straight to the part of a video that addresses what you need, so you don't have to hunt for that information yourself. In a briefing on Monday ahead of Google I/O, CEO Sundar Pichai said Ask YouTube will make "information much more digestible and easy to navigate." Ask YouTube is available now for Premium members in the US aged 18 and up. Google says it's slated to roll out more broadly soon. Google already surfaces relevant videos in Search and AI Overviews -- summaries that appear at the top of search results -- along with more text-centric results. Ask YouTube puts videos exclusively in the spotlight. The ability to jump straight to a specific moment in a clip builds upon an existing function in Google Search that determines the most helpful part of videos like how-tos or tutorials -- skipping lengthy intros or portions deemed irrelevant to a query. But making it easier to jump straight to specific sections across more videos could be a blow to creators, who rely on watch time and viewer retention. If people tune in for just a snippet, it could eat into creator revenues and affect overall video performance. Ask YouTube could also lead viewers to miss out on important context discussed in other parts of a video that weren't highlighted. Google's AI Overviews have been criticized for deterring people from clicking on source links, instead pulling information from various sites and distilling it (sometimes inaccurately) into bite-sized summaries. This can lead publishers and other platforms to lose out on page views and revenue streams. Other generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT have similarly been accused of exploiting sources without proper attribution. Whether Ask YouTube will face similar criticism isn't clear. On the one hand, it could help surface more relevant videos and make it easier for users to find what they need. But it could also reinforce a broader shift toward extracting only the most useful nuggets, leading to negative ripple effects for creators. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Ask YouTube compiles video answers to your questions - Engadget

At Google I/O 2006, YouTube unveiled more AI search hooks for its content. You'll soon be able to ask conversational questions within YouTube to find specific answers or content within the platform, similar to Google Search's AI Mode, but all in video. Ask YouTube pulls together what it thinks are relevant videos, including long-form content and Shorts, and you'll be able to ask follow-up questions based on results to refine them further. Ask YouTube will also fold in small text summaries for a better insight into whether the video will address your questions. Ask YouTube is currently available to YouTube Premium members in the US through the YouTube Labs page. Gemini Omni integration is also rolling out today.

YouTube is the latest site to stuff AI into its search bar

The feature is available to Premium users in the US who are 18 and up, but it will roll out broadly this summer. Amazon recently announced that Alexa Plus was coming to the search bar of its retail website. Something similar is about to happen to YouTube. Gemini is getting shoved into the search bar of the platform to help you search for and discover videos. In Google's unending quest to put Gemini into every nook and cranny of its business, the AI will soon find a new home in YouTube's search bar. It will appear as a feature called "Ask YouTube," which will allow you to ask more complex search queries than before. Based on what you're searching for, Ask YouTube will compile the most relevant long-form videos and Shorts across the site's catalog. One example the company provides is searching for tips on how to teach a kid to ride a bike. This new tool will provide a structured, interactive response in addition to finding tutorial videos, step-by-step guides, helpful tips, and more. It can even answer follow-up questions to further refine your search results. Ask YouTube will initially be available to only Premium subscribers in the US who are 18 and above. However, Google plans to roll out the feature to all YouTube users this summer.

YouTube overhaul broadens search with 'Ask YouTube,' adds Gemini Omni to recreate someone else's Shorts

Gemini Omni, the latest generative model announced at Google I/O, is coming to YouTube within the Shorts Remix tool. It adds generative edits to other creators' videos so users can add their own spin. Search is also getting a contextual upgrade. YouTube appears to be abandoning the straightforward, keyword-driven search approach in favor of "Ask YouTube." Gemini will pilot the new search for Premium members over 18 with the intention of making the right videos easier to find. The Google I/O 2026 announcement means users will be able to ask more complex search questions using Gemini in YouTube, some of which they have grown used to asking with AI models like Gemini. Google says results will be comprised of the "most relevant videos across all of YouTube's catalog." This might lead creators to adopt a different approach to publishing videos for exposure. This feature is notably different from the "Ask" button in videos. This comes as Gemini gets a new model for generative creation. The new model is being touted as the most realistic generative model available. Gemini Omni grounds itself in reality more than previous generative versions, and it's the perfect addition to a feature Google's already released to users. YouTube Shorts Remix was injected with Gemini at the beginning of the year, but it's not quite as extensive as what Google is currently making available. The AI update to Shorts Remix allowed users to "reimagine" videos with AI. The Gemini Omni model enhances that notion with AI tools that work with the user's vision. Google lists an example where users can ask Gemini to recreate the scene in a '90s vibe, or insert themselves alongside a favorite creator. The latter has the potential to be problematic. Google explains: Remixing with Omni delivers a fresh way for users to create and build on each other's imagination. The model better understands user intent creating more consistent and meaningful storytelling while also handling complex video and audio adjustments behind the scenes. This means you can spend less time worrying about technical skills and more time focusing on your ideas. Google says YouTube videos redone with Gemini won't be published as new videos. Every remixed video will have AI metadata labeling it as such, with a link back to the original source video. To protect creators, YouTube also notes that channels can choose to disable Shorts Remix and prevent other channels and users from editing their videos with the new tool. Ask YouTube will begin rolling out to Premium users over the age of 18 "soon."

Ask YouTube 'entirely reimagines' how you find videos with a conversational search experience -- here's how it works

Today (May 19), during Google I/O 2026, CEO Sundar Pichai announced new features that will change how you search for videos on YouTube. Ask YouTube is a new way to search for videos in the app, which Pichai said "entirely reimagines the experience." The AI feature lets you ask more complex and conversational search queries in the search bar. Plus, Gemini Omni is getting deeper integration in the YouTube Shorts Remix and YouTube Create tools. Here's what's new. Google's example was looking for tips on teaching your kids how to ride a bike or finding reviews of cozy games to play before bed. Ask YouTube will compile videos that best match the search, which includes both long-form videos and Shorts. Similar to AI overviews in Google Search, you will see an "interactive, structured" response. In this new view, Ask YouTube will jump you directly to the part of the video that relates to your query. The potential impact on YouTube Creators seems like it could be pretty large, as they constantly battle the algorithm. My colleague Marcus Cooper expressed skepticism about the new feature. "On the surface, Ask YouTube sounds like it could be helpful to the user. Whether it will help people find more varied creators than the algorithm -- we'll see," Cooper said. "Do we need everything to be AI? Probably not." Initially, the feature is only be available to YouTube Premium subscribers aged 18 and up in the United States, starting today. A broader release will roll out later, but Google did not provide a timeline. Gemini in Shorts and Create If you make and upload videos to YouTube, the new Gemini Omni tool is coming to Shorts Remix and the YouTube Create app. Remix allows you to take an "eligible Short" and add your own AI prompts and images to create a new vision, like adding a 90s filter or inserting yourself within the context of the original video. Gemini Omni is supposed to better understand "user intent" for more consistent storytelling while handling complex video and audio adjustments. Remixed Shorts created via Omni will have digital watermarks, identifying metadata and will automatically link back to the original video, Google said. Creators will have the option to opt-out of the remix. Remixing with Omni is rolling out today for free in YouTube Shorts Remix and the Create app. It will also come to AI Playground in the near future. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less.

Google just turned YouTube into an AI chatbot, with a new 'Ask YouTube' feature that finds the perfect video

* Google has announced a new feature called 'Ask YouTube' * This lets you ask lengthy and detailed questions when looking for a video * It uses Gemini, and makes the service a bit more like a chatbot Google I/O 2026 is now underway, and among the many announcements emerging from the California-set showcase, Google has revealed 'Ask YouTube' -- a feature that adds conversational AI to the popular video streaming platform. With Ask YouTube, rather than searching for a specific video the old-fashioned way, you can ask complex and lengthy questions, and Gemini will serve up specific videos that it thinks best answer your query. Helpfully, you'll be sent directly to the relevant part of the videos in question, too, rather than having to skim through them. One query example given by Google was, "How to teach my 3-year-old how to ride a pedal bike, they already know how to ride a balance bike?" As you can see in the video below, the results delivered written answers like a typical AI chatbot, but these were accompanied by relevant YouTube videos, so you can both read and watch to get the answers you're looking for. The idea of Ask YouTube is to make the information more digestible, and to make it easier to actually find useful videos and the relevant parts of them. Coming this summer, but only to the US Ask YouTube is a similar idea to 'Ask Maps', a feature that was rolled out to Google Maps recently. Though currently, Ask Maps is only available in the US and India, and at launch, Ask YouTube will only be accessible in the US. So, much of the world will be stuck waiting for this exciting new feature, but if you're in the US, you should gain access to Ask YouTube sometime "this summer" -- presumably meaning sometime between June and September. And if you're happy doing things the current way, you can always just ignore the new Ask YouTube button that's soon going to appear. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.