YouTube doubles down on video shopping with AI-powered ‘Ask YouTube’ feature
YouTube is expanding its 'Ask YouTube' AI-powered search feature to include shopping-related tools, such as product comparisons and recommendations. The feature uses a custom Gemini model to map user queries to specific moments in videos.
Why it matters
This integration signals a shift in how platforms monetize video content by turning passive viewing into an active, AI-driven e-commerce experience.
“Ask YouTube,” the video site’s newer AI-powered conversational search feature, will become a shopping companion, the company announced on Wednesday at its Made on YouTube event.
Ask YouTube began as an experiment in conversational search, before becoming a larger part of the YouTube experience. The feature allows anyone to search YouTube using natural language requests, including with queries that are more complex and detailed than in traditional search. YouTube will then compile a set of results that may include both Shorts and long-form videos, guiding you through topics like step-by-step travel plans , guides to learning a new skill , or a series of recommedations around a particualr topics.
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