YouTube Is Getting New AI Tools: 7 Features Creators And Viewers Need To Know

YouTube is making a major push into AI, with a series of new tools designed to change how people create, discover and watch videos.

At its Made on YouTube 2026 event, Google announced new AI features for creators and viewers, including conversational video editing, custom AI-powered feeds, smarter shopping recommendations and real-time dubbing.

Some of these features could eventually change how users interact with YouTube itself.

Here are seven of the biggest updates.

1. You Can Create Your Own YouTube Feed With AI

One of the most interesting changes is Custom Feeds.

Instead of relying entirely on YouTube’s standard recommendation algorithm, users will be able to describe the type of content they want to watch using natural language.

For example, users could ask for a feed of documentaries

for an evening, DIY videos, podcasts for a commute or content around a particular interest.

YouTube will then create a dedicated feed based on the prompt.

Google says users will be able to save multiple custom feeds, which will automatically update with new recommendations.

The feature is initially coming to users in the US on web, mobile and TVs.

2. Ask YouTube Is Becoming A Shopping Assistant

YouTube is also expanding its AI-powered Ask YouTube feature.

The tool will be able to help users research products and make purchasing decisions.

Instead of simply searching for videos about a phone, laptop or television, users will be able to ask questions and receive organised recommendations.

YouTube says Ask YouTube will be able to generate product comparison information based on users’ preferences.

That could make YouTube more competitive with traditional shopping search.

3. AI Will Help Edit Shorts

YouTube is also bringing a conversational AI editing assistant to Shorts and the YouTube Create app.

The Gemini-powered tool can help creators edit videos using text prompts, including trimming clips, synchronising music, adding text hooks and rearranging footage.

For creators who currently spend significant amounts of time editing short-form videos, this could remove some of the more repetitive parts of the workflow.

4. Ask Studio Can Analyse Your Videos

YouTube Studio is also getting more AI assistance through Ask Studio.

The feature is designed to help creators understand how their channel and individual videos are performing.

YouTube says its new Studio tools can help creators understand past performance, identify unusual or successful videos and generate insights that can inform future content.

This moves AI beyond simply generating content. It can potentially help creators decide what content to make next.

5. Real-Time AI Dubbing For Live Streams

YouTube is also expanding real-time auto-dubbing for livestreams.

The aim is to help creators reach viewers who speak different languages without requiring them to manually produce separate versions of a livestream.

For Indian creators, this could be particularly significant given the country’s multilingual audience.

YouTube says its new live tools are designed to break language barriers through real-time auto-dubbing.

6. Shorts Can Become Series

YouTube is also introducing ways to organise Shorts into dedicated seasons and episodes.

That could help creators structure short-form storytelling rather than publishing every Short as an entirely separate piece of content.

The change comes as short episodic formats and microdramas continue to become more prominent on social video platforms.

7. YouTube Is Using AI To Change Discovery

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the announcement is that YouTube isn’t limiting AI to video creation.

It is also using AI to change how people find content.

Custom Feeds, Ask YouTube, Ask Music and personalised podcast recommendations all point towards a YouTube experience where users increasingly tell the platform what they want instead of simply scrolling through an algorithmically selected homepage.

For viewers, that could mean more control over what appears on screen.

For creators, however, it could also mean another layer of AI-driven discovery to understand.

YouTube’s latest announcements show that the platform is moving towards an AI-assisted ecosystem covering the entire process — from deciding what video to make, to editing it, finding an audience, translating it and helping viewers decide what to watch next.