YouTube rolls out custom feeds and expanded AI features for viewers and creators

YouTube is preparing a slate of new features designed to give viewers greater control over their feeds and deeper AI assistance across the platform, announcements made at the Made on YouTube event reveal.

Custom feeds put discovery in your hands#

The most significant shift for regular viewers is the arrival of Custom Feeds, a feature that lets you build personalized tabs within YouTube's main interface. Rather than relying solely on the algorithm's default recommendations, you can create multiple feeds by describing what you want to see—whether that's specific creators, topics, or content styles. YouTube then suggests videos to fill the feed, which you can fine-tune by rating suggestions and refining your initial description. The company plans to roll out this feature soon across web, mobile, and TV platforms in the US.

Enhanced social and messaging tools#

The platform is also addressing long-standing user requests around community engagement. GIF support is finally coming to comments, letting you search for and embed animated reactions directly into your responses on both regular videos and YouTube Shorts. Beyond that, YouTube's direct messaging service is expanding to include group chat capabilities, though availability will initially be limited to the US, UK, Singapore, Brazil, and select European markets.

AI gets more conversational roles#

YouTube's AI-powered Ask YouTube feature is becoming more deeply integrated into the browsing experience. The tool will now offer a conversational layer during product review videos, letting you ask questions via text or voice command to learn more about what you're watching. In search results, Ask YouTube can serve up organized video recommendations and side-by-side product comparisons, making research easier without leaving the platform.

The music-focused version follows suit. Ask Music is gaining prominence in the YouTube Music app—relocated to the top of the interface where search once lived—with the ability to create and edit playlists, share artist information, and surface personalized suggestions while you're building a mix.