YouTube turns 'Ask YouTube' into a shopping tool

“Ask YouTube,” the video site’s AI-powered conversational search feature, is becoming a shopping companion, the company announced Wednesday at its Made On YouTube event.

Ask YouTube began as an experiment in conversational search before growing into a larger part of the YouTube experience. It lets anyone search YouTube using natural-language requests, including queries more complex and detailed than traditional search, and compiles results that may mix Shorts and long-form videos — guiding users through step-by-step travel plans, guides to learning a new skill, or a series of recommendations around a particular topic.

Now, YouTube says Ask YouTube will gain features aimed at shopping decisions. Searching for a particular product, for instance, could surface organized recommendations that include a comparison table showing various product attributes or categories, based on a user’s preferences. Users will also be able to ask follow-up questions directly on a video’s watch page.

YouTube says the changes are based on trends it’s already seeing in user behavior, as people learn about different products from creators and trust their opinions and recommendations. More than 140 million people used Ask YouTube to dig deeper into videos during June, the company said — a jump of more than 500% since last December.

“Behind that growth is a custom Gemini model that maps the viewer’s most complex questions to the exact second that the video provides the answer, turning a passive search into an instant, meaningful connection with the video and with the creator,” Emily Moxley, YouTube’s VP of Product Management for Viewer AI, said in a briefing with reporters ahead of the event.

Why it matters

Turning a search feature into a shopping surface puts YouTube in more direct competition with retail-focused platforms, betting that viewers already trust creator recommendations enough to act on them without leaving the app.