Google is testing chatbot AI search for YouTube

Google is trying out an AI-like search experience on YouTube. The company is Now test “A new way to search on YouTube that feels more like a conversation,” where results include things like long videos, short YouTube videos, and text about what you’re searching for. The Trial is available now if you’re a YouTube Premium subscriber in the US and are 18 or older.

I ran it for myself. Now, in the search bar, I see the “Ask YouTube” button, and clicking on the search bar brings up question prompts like “Funny clips of a baby elephant playing,” “Summary of volleyball rules,” and “A short history of the Apollo 11 moon landing.” If I keep the search box empty but click the Ask YouTube button, YouTube takes me to a full page with suggested searches and a text box to ask a question.

When searching using Ask YouTube, YouTube briefly displays a mostly blank page with an upload icon, and after a few seconds, fills it with text and details. I experienced this with the “The Short History of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing” prompt. At the top of the results was a group of texts summarizing the mission, including a bulleted list of key milestones such as the date of the moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon. The page then included a video about the scheduled launch date Section about launch day From a channel called “The Life Guide”, followed by video galleries under titles such as “From Launch to Splashdown”, “History and Behind the Scenes” and a series of short films about “Rooftop Moments”. (I assume YouTube pulls the text for these sections from videos featured in search results.)

Finally, the page contains a few suggested prompts, including “Who are the Apollo 11 astronauts,” and (perhaps worryingly) “Apollo 11 conspiracy theories,” and a text box I can use to ask a follow-up question or start a new search. I clicked on “Who were the Apollo 11 astronauts” and got a new set of results with a slightly different format, including a grid with background on astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. However, a search for “Apollo 11 conspiracy theories” returned a typical list of search results on YouTube.

I did another test on Ask YouTube to see how it fared with something I know well: Valve’s new Steam controller, which I posted a review today. I asked, “What’s a Steam Controller,” and YouTube gave an overview of the controller and pointed to Valve’s New video about the controllerhighlighting longer reviews and a “Hands-On Quick Reviews” section featuring Shorts videos (including new Shorts Published today And one Since last November).

Everything was mostly fine, but I ran into a factual error: YouTube claimed that an old, discontinued Steam controller didn’t have a joystick; When he actually has one. It was a reminder that, although AI-generated search results pages may seem useful, you need to do your due diligence to ensure they are accurate.