YouTube used its 2026 Made On event this week to unveil a wide range of updates, spanning AI-powered editing, content discovery, livestreaming, and creator monetization tools, signaling a broader push to keep users and creators engaged on the platform.
Custom Feeds and Discovery Get an AI Boost
Among the headline announcements is the wider rollout of custom feeds, which lets viewers build personalized video feeds simply by describing what they want to watch, with the option to save these feeds for later. YouTube began testing the feature with select users back in May, and it’s now set to reach all U.S. users this fall. The platform is also expanding image carousel posts in the Shorts feed and bringing channel-page image posts to TV screens, while a new “Ask YouTube” shopping assistant will let viewers get product recommendations without leaving the video player.
Creator Tools Target Shorts and Livestreaming
For creators, YouTube introduced Shorts series, allowing short-form videos to be organized into seasons and episodes, a move that taps into the growing popularity of microdrama-style storytelling. A new conversational editing assistant, powered by Google’s Gemini Omni, will help creators assemble first drafts of Shorts from selected photos and clips, then offer suggestions on pacing, text overlays, and trimming.
Livestreaming also saw notable updates, including a planned pilot of real-time auto-dubbing in English and Spanish set for early next year, along with a head-to-head “Live showdowns” format designed to boost viewer donations, and an expansion of the communal Watch With feature to more videos.
On the business side, YouTube Studio is gaining AI assistance through Ask Studio, expanded performance insights, and video A/B testing, while creators will soon be able to upload multiple thumbnails per video and get help drafting brand sponsorship proposals.