YouTube Music Introduces AI-Powered Features: Hum-to-Search and Conversational Radio

YouTube Music fully rolls out new 'hum to search' feature - and starts testing new AI-powered radio

Back in March we reported that YouTube Music was testing a sound search feature that would let you to find music by humming, singing or playing it. It made its way to some users in May before Google appeared to roll it back - well, now it's finally rolling out for everybody on iOS and Android. The feature's accuracy will of course depend on how well you can sing or hum it; while 'sound search' is clever, it isn't so smart that it can recognize a version that's not even in the same zip code as the original. But if the sound recognition can find a match it does so very quickly and will present you with key information including the song name and artist, the year and the download status. To activate sound search, simply tap the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the YouTube Music app. This reveals a sound wave icon, and if you tap on that you'll get the full screen search page. Now all you need to do is belt out the banger and hope YouTube Music can work out what it is. That's not the only new feature coming to YouTube Music. According to 9to5google, the service is now officially testing its AI-generated radio feature for US premium subscribers. The rollout was spotted earlier this month for a very select few, but it now appears to be rolling out more widely to paying subscribers. The feature works by taking text or voice prompts and then creating a customized, personalized selection of music from them. As we noted at the time, the new feature could be a useful tool in the battle of the best music streaming services: because all the services have much the same catalog and charge much the same for their premium products, the music streamers are increasingly differentiating themselves on the basis of features. If you find yourself using a feature like Google's AI radio stations, that'll make YouTube's music offering much more sticky - and our recent YouTube Music review also concluded that the service is particularly good for "listeners who want to leave mainstream music behind and embrace the obscure artist".

YouTube Music is testing an AI-generated radio feature and adding a song recognition tool | TechCrunch

YouTube Music is introducing two new ways to boost song discovery on its platform. YouTube announced on Monday that it's experimenting with an AI-generated conversational radio feature, and rolling out a new Shazam-like tool to help users discover the name of a song by singing, humming or playing parts of it. The new AI-generated conversational radio feature in YouTube Music is rolling out to select Premium users in the United States. Users who have access to the feature can create a custom radio station by describing what they want to hear. For instance, you could ask for "catchy pop choruses" or "upbeat pop anthems." The launch of the experimental feature doesn't come as a surprise, as 9to5Google reported last week that YouTube Music was beginning to test it. YouTube Music's new feature is somewhat similar to AI playlist generation tools currently being tested by Spotify, Amazon Music, and now, as of Monday, Deezer. All four music streaming services are introducing ways to give users the ability to enter written prompts in order to generate a personalized listening experience. Users who have access to the new feature will start to see a new "Ask for music any way you like" card in the app's home feed. Once you click on the card, the app will open up a conversational UI where you can enter a custom prompt or select a suggested one. While the feature is currently only available for select users, YouTube says it will bring it to more users in the future. As for the new song recognition feature, YouTube Music users can now search the app's catalog of songs by sound. Now, when you tap "search" in the app, you will see a waveform icon that will notify you that you can find the name of a song by singing, humming or playing it. While Shazam is arguably the most famous song recognition tool, YouTube Music's new feature goes a step beyond Shazam as it allows you to find the name of a song by humming or singing it, whereas Shazam only works if you play the actual song. YouTube Music's song detection tool, which was first available to select Android YouTube Music users earlier this year, is now officially rolling out to all users across iOS and Android.

YouTube Music tests new AI "conversational radio", rolls out sound search

YouTube Music announced it is testing the "AI generated conversational radio" which will be available for premium subscribers in the U.S. AI-generated conversational radio will let users create a custom radio by "describing exactly what they want to hear". The feature can be accessed by looking for "Ask for music any way you like" card in their home feeds. Here users can enter a short prompt to generate a custom radio. The platform also started rolling out sound search that allows users to "humm" a tune to search. The feature allows users to search from a catalogue of over 100 million official songs by sound. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) Users can tap on the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner of YouTube Music to access a waveform button. Tapping on the button launches the fullscreen UI that allows users to sing, hum or play a song to search for it. YouTube Music can start using Sound search on Android and iOS apps starting today. Read Comments

YouTube Music is Getting a Spotify-Like AI Radio Feature

With AI being the latest hot buzzword, everyone is looking to integrate AI to some degree to their own apps and services. Streaming music services have been looking for ways to leverage generative AI, and now YouTube Music is joining the fray. YouTube Music is adding a handful of new features that should be able to greatly improve your music recommendation experience. First off, there's a new AI-generated conversational radio is currently being tested with select Premium users in the United States. This feature allows users to create personalized radio stations by simply describing their desired music, such as "catchy pop choruses" or "upbeat pop anthems." This reminds us a bit of what Spotify is doing with AI technology -- not only do we have a personal DJ that will vibe with you and your personal music likes, but there's also a playlist generator that will generate a playlist for you when you write a prompt of what you're looking for. The second feature is a Shazam-like song recognition tool, now available to all iOS and Android users. This tool goes beyond Shazam's capabilities, enabling users to identify songs not only by playing them but also by humming, singing, or even playing parts of the song on an instrument. It's actually pretty similar (if not identical) to what Google Search already includes with its microphone button. However, integrating it into YouTube Music makes it more visible to people who might actually be looking for it, since most people probably don't think to use Google Search for music. While the AI radio feature is still in its experimental phase, YouTube has indicated plans to expand its availability to more users in the future. If you want to see if you have these features yet, you might want to update your app. Source: TechCrunch

YouTube Music's latest features include 'hum to search' and AI-generated conversational radio

That last one is still in beta and only available to select users. YouTube Music is rolling out some fun new features, including the expansion of the "hum to search" tool that has been in beta for Android users since March. The company says this tool allows users to "search the YouTube Music catalog of over 100 million official songs" by using natural sound. All you have to do is tap "search" and look for the waveform icon. Then it's up to you. The tool lets people hum the song, sing the song or even play the song on another instrument. The feature is rolling out to YouTube music subscribers on both iOS and Android. It's also been working on something called AI-generated conversational radio. This isn't a platform in which AI DJs take jobs away from Wolfman Jack or whatever. Rather, it's a tool that lets people use natural conversation to describe the type of radio station they want to listen to. The algorithm will take in that information and create some tailor-made radio. This is sort of like Spotify's AI DJ from a while back, but the conversational element should make the algorithm zero in on your exact tastes as described. The bad news? It's only available to select subscribers at this point, as it's in a testing phase. If successful, it should roll out to more users in the coming months. After all, YouTube first announced the "hum to search" tool in March and its already becoming widely available.

YouTube Music tests AI playlists tailored to what you want to hear

YouTube Music is testing a new feature that lets you use AI to generate a playlist. In a statement to The Verge, YouTube spokesperson Jessica Gibby said that Premium users in the US will be able to create a custom playlist by "describing exactly what they want to hear." As shown in screenshots obtained by 9to5Google, the feature could surface a chat UI that you can use to enter a description, or choose from prompts like, "Catchy pop choruses" or "Upbeat pop anthems." It will then generate a playlist based on your description. Spotify has a similar feature that lets Premium users generate playlists using AI. Gibby says YouTube Music is also rolling out a feature that lets you search for a specific song by singing, humming, or playing it out loud. The Shazam-like feature is coming to both iPhone and Android devices, and you can use it by hitting the new waveform icon that appears when tapping the "search" button in the YouTube Music app. YouTube will then try to find the song you're looking for, and if found, will display the song name, artist, and the album that it's from. The platform first started testing this feature last year and began rolling it out on Android in May.

Google rolls out Sound Search feature to YouTube Music: Report - Times of India

YouTube Music is officially getting the Sound Search tool that allows users to find songs by simply humming the song. The feature was previously available to a few users in May this year before being rolled back for an unknown reason. According to a report by 9to5Google, Google is now officially rolling out the feature to all Android and iOS users. How to use YouTube Music's Sound Search tool The 'sound search' in YouTube Music allows users to search "catalog of over 100 million official songs by sound." To start using it, tap on the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner of YouTube Music and tap on the waveform button, next to the mic button. This will launch a new screen where you can sing, hum or play a song. The report mentions that Sound search is rolling out to YouTube Music for Android and iOS starting July 15. The results page will show the name of the song and the artist, cover art, album, year in which it was released, along with the download status and play button. Another feature that Google is testing for YouTube Music is the "AI-generated conversational radio" for Premium users in the US. The upcoming feature will enable users to create a custom radio by "describing exactly what they want to hear." The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.