YouTube has expanded Ask YouTube, its conversational search feature, across the web, mobile devices and TVs. The tool lets users describe what they are looking for in natural language, then refine the results through follow-up questions rather than starting a new search each time.
Responses can combine text explanations, relevant videos and selected clips sourced from YouTube alongside up-to-date web information. Results may include long-form videos or Shorts, with each highlighted segment showing the video title and channel name and offering playback from the relevant moment.
YouTube suggests the feature can handle multi-part planning requests, such as organizing a three-day trip between San Francisco and Santa Barbara and then answering additional questions about the route. The company says Ask YouTube complements conventional search, although generating an AI response can take longer because it analyzes multiple kinds of content.
On TVs and game consoles, questions can be entered with a keyboard or spoken through a remote-control microphone. For certain complex voice requests, the Ask YouTube interface may open automatically, and follow-up questions can also be asked by voice.
- Ask YouTube is not available on Apple TV.
- The feature is unavailable in YouTube Kids.
- Supervised child accounts cannot use Ask YouTube.
The rollout remains limited to the US and English-language searches, with no timetable announced for wider language or regional availability. Separately, YouTube is extending the Ask YouTube tool available from a video watch page; after arriving on TVs earlier this year, it is expected to become usable during Shorts and live streams as well.
