YouTube Plans Custom Feeds and Expanded AI Features for 2026

Summary

At its annual Made on YouTube event, Google previewed a broad set of features planned for the platform, combining new AI tools with changes to feeds, comments, messaging, and livestreams. Custom Feeds will let users describe the content they want, receive a generated feed, refine the description, rate recommendations, and save multiple feeds; the feature is expected to arrive soon in the US on web, mobile, and TV. Ask YouTube will become more prominent in product-review videos and search, where it may answer questions, organize recommendations, and create product comparison tables. Ask Music will move into a more prominent position in YouTube Music and will be able to create or edit playlists, provide artist information, and make suggestions across the app. YouTube also plans an AI-generated weekly spoken preview called Your Podcast Lineup for YouTube Music subscribers, with these music features beginning to roll out later this year. For creators, a Gemini-based conversational editing feature is coming to YouTube Create, while expanded A/B testing will support up to three video versions. Ask Studio will suggest changes to pacing, framing, and thumbnails, generate thumbnails, and analyze older videos in the background. Other announced features include GIF comments, group messaging in an initial set of countries, and early-next-year live matchmaking that can pair streamers for shared broadcasts. Those broadcasts will connect to Live Showdown, where leaderboards track chats, gifts, and Super Chats. YouTube also plans live autodubbing early next year, allowing creators to offer real-time translated streams; Google says viewers outside a creator’s home country account for 40 percent of live watch time. The company did not explain the technical implementation of autodubbing.