YouTube has begun testing a new AI-driven search mode that replaces keyword results with generated text summaries and cited video sources. YouTube confirmed the feature on its Premium Early Access page, describing it as "a new way to search on YouTube that feels more like a conversation."
How the Feature Works
The feature, called "Ask YouTube," is available as an experimental test for YouTube Premium subscribers in the US and transforms the platform's search bar into a chatbot-style interface that pulls results from longform videos, Shorts, and text summaries.
To access the experiment, eligible Premium users must opt in at youtube.com/new, and the feature works on desktop computers only. Once enabled, an "Ask YouTube" button appears beside the search bar. Entering a query triggers a short loading process before the page switches to a conversational AI interface. The results page displays a heading, a short text summary, and one primary cited video that automatically opens at a timestamp selected by the system based on the query.
Below the main response, YouTube presents additional longform videos and Shorts in separate galleries. Some cited source clips may also appear embedded directly within the AI summary for quick viewing.
YouTube says users can refine their original question inside the search experience, while the system draws on real-time information from both the web and YouTube content to answer more complex queries. Follow-up questions are supported within the same persistent thread. In testing, responses to comparative queries have included AI-generated tables with links to the videos from which the data was drawn.
YouTube notes on its experiment page that "quality and accuracy may vary" and asks users to submit thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback with optional rationale.
Eligibility and Duration
The experiment is available to Premium subscribers in the US who are 18 or older, searching in English on desktop, and runs until June 8.
How This Differs From Earlier YouTube AI Search Tests
Ask YouTube extends YouTube's AI search trials beyond earlier AI Overviews, which appeared as a carousel for some product and location searches. This test shifts emphasis toward a written summary at the top, with videos shown as supporting evidence.
The new test arrives after YouTube's June 26, 2025 AI update, when the company said Premium members in the United States could try an AI-powered search results carousel for shopping, travel, and local activity searches, and that conversational AI would expand to some non-Premium users in the country.
In 2023, YouTube introduced a chatbot-style tool that answered questions about the video being watched. That experiment first reached a small number of people on a subset of videos, then expanded to YouTube Premium members in the United States on Android. The new search feature extends that logic from a single video to the broader search for content.
Ranking Signals Not Yet Disclosed
YouTube has not yet shared any formal guidance on selection or ranking signals for Ask YouTube results. The absence of that information is directly relevant to creators: whether a video surfaces as the primary cited result, as a supporting item, or not at all is currently determined by criteria YouTube has not made public.
Implications for Marketers and Content Creators
For digital marketers and YouTube creators, Ask YouTube represents a structural shift in how content is discovered and attributed in search results. When AI summaries become the primary result format, optimizing for citations, not just click-throughs, becomes a relevant consideration. Because YouTube has disclosed no ranking signals for the feature, creators currently have no platform-confirmed method for improving the likelihood of appearing as a cited source. Monitoring how citation patterns develop during the experiment period may inform future content strategy decisions.
The experiment runs until June 8, unless YouTube chooses to extend it, and remains a limited preview with ranking methods still unknown.
