YouTube lets users build custom AI-powered feeds

YouTube says it’s going to let you build your own algorithm — well, kind of. The company on Wednesday announced a new feature called custom feeds that lets users describe, in their own words, the kinds of videos they’d like YouTube to recommend.

To create one, a user types a description of what they want the feed to be about into a prompt box, whether that’s a feed dedicated to a particular interest or one that serves some other purpose. YouTube suggests users could build a feed of video podcasts to watch during a 30-minute train commute, or request videos for a particular mood, like “relaxing commentary videos to unwind with.”

The prompt-based feature uses Google’s Gemini AI model to build the feed around a user’s request, and the resulting feed is then pinned to the top of the YouTube home page in its own tab. Because the feed’s creation is AI-powered, the request can be described in lengthy terms, with detailed information about how to curate the feed, what it should feature or exclude, and what content to prioritize.

The addition follows similar moves by other social networks that have built tools letting users construct their own algorithms by describing what they want their feed to include. Decentralized social network Bluesky began popularizing the idea years ago to differentiate itself from rivals like X, and this year rolled out an AI tool called Attie that makes feed-building even easier. Other services, including Meta’s Threads, Instagram, X, and, more recently, Spotify, have also launched their own feed-building features, many of which are AI-powered too.

“One of the amazing things about being on YouTube is that the world is always at your fingertips,” Emily Moxley, YouTube’s VP of Product Management for Viewer AI, said in a pre-brief with reporters ahead of the Made On YouTube event where custom feeds were introduced. “There’s over 20 billion videos in the YouTube corpus, so you’re always one search away from a treasure trove of topics.”

The new feeds won’t replace YouTube’s main feed, which still features all of a user’s recommendations; instead, users will be able to jump into whichever feed suits their purpose when they open the app. Support for creating multiple custom feeds rolls out across YouTube on web and mobile starting next month, the company said.

Why it matters

Letting users describe their own feed in plain language — rather than relying on YouTube’s opaque recommendation engine — puts more explicit control in viewers’ hands, echoing a broader shift already underway across Bluesky, Threads, and Spotify.