Following in the footsteps of Meta and Microsoft, Google is enhancing its apps and services with AI-powered capabilities. YouTube is among these platforms, having recently rolled out updates focused on artificial intelligence. This week’s update introduces two new AI-driven features for users in the United States — one exclusively for Premium subscribers, and the other accessible to all users regardless of membership status.
According to Phonearena, Premium users can now try out a new AI-powered search results circle that recommends videos and summarizes topics from YouTube creators. Currently, this AI-generated circle, which highlights video clips, only appears in searches related to shopping, travel, or activities at specific locations. This feature remains limited to Premium users in the U.S.
In addition to the new AI search results circle, YouTube is also launching its AI chat tool for some non-Premium users in the United States. YouTube first introduced this AI feature to Premium subscribers nearly two years ago, so this marks a significant step toward expanding AI support to non-paying users.
As the name suggests, the chat tool is designed to answer questions and suggest related content instantly, without interrupting the viewing experience. Since it’s currently only available in the U.S., the feature supports English only. The AI chat tool is also limited to the Android version of the YouTube app, which was previously a major restriction when first released.
YouTube has revealed that the interactive AI chat tool will be rolled out gradually over the coming days as part of a test phase. This means the AI feature will remain in a trial stage and only a limited number of users will have access initially.