At its Made On 2026 event this week, YouTube rolled out a wide set of updates spanning viewer discovery, creator tools, and commerce, signaling a push toward deeper AI integration and monetization support across the platform.
Personalized Feeds and Viewing Experience
Among the headline features is an expanded rollout of custom feeds, letting users build alternate video feeds through conversational prompts describing what they want to watch, with the option to save these feeds for later. The company also revealed Ask YouTube for Shopping, an AI chatbot that answers product questions directly within the video player, alongside broader access to image posts and carousels across TV and Shorts.
AI-Powered Creation Tools
For creators, YouTube introduced Shorts series, allowing short-form videos to be organized into seasons and episodes, tapping into the growing popularity of microdrama-style storytelling. The platform is also embedding Google’s Gemini Omni AI into a conversational editing assistant within YouTube Create, helping creators trim footage, adjust pacing, and add text through simple chat prompts.
Other additions include a real-time auto-dubbing test for livestreams launching in English and Spanish next year, a head-to-head “Live Showdowns” format to boost viewer donations, and wider access to the communal Watch With livestream feature.
YouTube Studio is also getting upgrades, including an Ask Studio assistant, deeper performance insights, video A/B testing, and support for up to three thumbnails per video. Additionally, comment moderation will now factor in similar past comments, and speaking-voice detection is being tested for likeness protection.
On monetization, YouTube plans to expand its Shopping affiliate program to 35 markets by year-end, extend its Amazon partnership to India and Brazil, and launch Affiliate Campaigns so brands can directly invite creators with tailored commission offers.