YouTube's new AI chatbot: Ask what videos are about so you don't have to watch them

Why watch the video when you can ask an AI instead?
By Chance Townsend  on 
YouTube UI on a phone
YouTube has a new AI-powered 'Ask' feature. Credit: Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

A little over a week after Google’s “Made by YouTube” event, the company is starting to roll out its conversational AI chatbot on the platform.

Dubbed the “Ask” button, this new generative AI feature is currently available exclusively to YouTube Premium subscribers on Android.

First teased late last year, the "Ask" button is a mobile-only tool that allows users to interact with the videos they're watching in a whole new way. According to a demo posted by YouTube on X (formerly known as Twitter), the AI can, for instance, pull up an ingredient list from a cooking tutorial or provide more details about a music video.

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How to access the YouTube 'AI ask' feature

For anyone eager to try out YouTube’s new AI feature, there’s a catch: it’s not available on every video. According to YouTube’s support page, the “Ask” button only works on “select English videos,” which means it’s accessible on just 28% of the platform's nearly 3.9 billion videos — so good luck tracking those down.

On the bright side, if you’re not a YouTube Premium subscriber, the AI tool is still available on some academic learning videos, giving non-paying users a limited chance to experience it firsthand. The Ask button appears below the video player as a pill-shaped option next to the Share button. However, it has also been spotted as a swipeable option within the comments box.

As mentioned above, the tool is also only available on Android devices, with no word yet on whether it's coming to web or iOS.

Headshot of a Black man
Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and finds great enjoyment in Detroit sports. If you have any stories, tips, recipes, or wanna talk shop about the Lions/Tigers/Pistons/Red Wings you can reach him at [email protected]


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