On April 23, YouTube revealed that it is testing a version of Google Search’s AI Overviews on its platform. The video service is testing a feature that showcases snippets of videos in a carousel that is triggered by a particular search query. This feature extends the utility of AI Overviews, from Gemini, by providing video clips in place of textual answers. It is a test feature for now and will be limited to certain topics.
Table of Contents
YouTube Tests AI Overviews with Video Clips in Search Results for Specific Queries and Topic
The feature is currently being tested on YouTube with a small group of YouTube Premium subscribers in the U.S., according to a support page on Google’s forum. Once they are available, they will be able to type a query in the YouTube search bar and see the AI-generated summary at the top of the results page.
This feature is now restricted to English-language queries on some topics. At the top of search results for a query, users will see a carousel of video clips that are relevant to the query. AI Overviews will offer “just another way to process content” and review topics connected to the search query, Google said.
One similar feature has been in Google Search. When searching for a topic better explained through video, Google often displays time-stamped YouTube videos that start exactly at the point where the information is provided. For instance, if a user is looking for a DIY manual to repair a chair, the video will fast forward to the part where the leg of the chair is being repaired, by not showing the introduction video.
Recently, Google also added “key moments” to search results, displaying clips with brief descriptions and time stamps to help users navigate videos. While YouTube hasn’t revealed full details on how AI Overviews will work, it is expected to function similarly. However, YouTube clarified that AI Overviews will not be available for all queries. The feature will initially be limited to product searches, location-based queries, or recommendations for specific locations.
FAQs
Who can access YouTube’s AI Overviews feature?
It’s currently available to a select group of YouTube Premium users in the U.S.
What type of queries will AI Overviews support?
The feature will support product, location, and recommendation-based queries.
