YouTube announced on Wednesday at its Made On YouTube event that its AI-powered conversational search feature, "Ask YouTube," will now function as a shopping companion. This expansion means the feature will help users with their shopping decisions.
For example, searching for a specific product could yield organised recommendations, including comparison tables detailing various product attributes or categories based on user preferences. Users will also have the ability to ask follow-up questions directly on a video's watch page.
YouTube stated these changes are based on observed user behaviour, where individuals learn about products from creators and trust their recommendations. The company noted that over 140 million people used "Ask YouTube" in June, marking a more than 500% increase since last December.