YouTube announced it will begin testing new artificial intelligence-powered features on its platform, including a comment summarizer and conversational agent. The updates look to enhance the user experience by leveraging the latest advancements in generative AI.
The video platform said it will first rollout an AI summarizer for YouTube comments. The summarizer will analyze comments on a video and identify the most relevant or insightful ones to highlight at the top. This aims to allow users to quickly view engaging discussion rather than sifting through all comments.
YouTube is also building an AI chatbot named AVA to have natural conversations about videos with users. People can ask AVA questions about a video, like explaining complex concepts, and it will reply conversationally using generative language models.
AVA will first appear on a limited number of YouTube channels in the coming weeks. Viewers can click an option to “Ask AVA” about a video to activate the chatbot and have an interactive discussion.
YouTube said its goal with implementing generative AI is to allow creators to interact more personally with their audience. The company acknowledged risks like biased or inappropriate content. It said new features will roll out slowly with safeguards in place.
Major tech platforms have moved quickly to adopt generative AI lately following the release of systems like ChatGPT. TikTok recently announced a partnership with Anthropic to bring conversational AI onto its platform.
The ability for AI chatbots to have natural, human-like conversations while answering questions makes for an engaging user experience. Tech companies aim to utilize the technology to improve areas like customer service as well.
But generative AI has also raised concerns around issues like bias, misinformation and copyright infringement. As adoption grows, platforms will need to establish guidelines and limitations to ensure safe, appropriate use cases.
