YouTube invests in AI agents, live ‘gamification,’ and editing tools to keep creators close

At the event, held in NYC, YouTube paired demos of new AI products and live tools with a stats-heavy pitch: 1.7 billion unique views during the World Cup, funding enough creators to create 540,000 full-time jobs in the U.S., and adding $60 billion to the U.S. GDP. 

The push comes as YouTube faces increasing competition for creator time and budgets from TikTok (which YouTube Shorts is designed to rival), Twitch (which leads in streaming), Instagram (which is pivoting to TV), all of which are leaning on AI, live formats and affiliate tools to lock in talent. 

User-facing discoverability and customization should help creators

YouTube is x on its agentic tools, built on a custom Gemini model, to help users curate their experience. In theory, that should help creators find more relevant audiences. In practice, questions still linger over how this will affect discoverability and view counts, which the platform just changed how it counts.

“Custom feeds” let users create curated homepage feeds using AI prompts. These feeds will pull content from long and short-form YouTube content, ranging from hyper-specific niches to more broad interests. 

YouTube is also expanding its “Ask YouTube” conversational search feature, which surfaces answers when users type questions into a dedicated box. Now, shopping links will appear in results, and  discovery is based not only on thumbnails and auto-generated video transcripts, but imagery in videos. 

“It opens things up to more discoverability for certain creators,” said Mustafa Aijaz, vp of media company SoaR.

YouTube’s head of products, Amjad Hanif, said videos presented through Ask YouTube will count as a view. “If a creator asks how they should change their strategy based on this, I would encourage them to not over-rotate,” he said. 

More livestreaming tools — and a goal for better discoverability in the future 

YouTube is adding more livestreaming tools to its wheelhouse as it tries to turn viewers into real-time participants and buyers. Live auto-dubbing rolls out soon, which YouTube Live product manager Barbara Macdonald said during a press roundtable is designed to help creators break language barriers, which can limit their audience size. 

“I don’t think anybody else is doing that, and YouTube is in a unique position to do it,” said Aijaz.

Live showdowns will let creators face off head-to-head while streaming, with fans filling a meter by contributing to the stream with on-platform gifts. This adds what MacDonald called a a “gamification” motivation feature that turns viewership from passive to active.

When asked about the lingering discoverability problem for live streaming (something that plagues platforms like Twitch, as well), MacDonald told Digiday it was a “huge priority” for her team.

“We’re working on ways to have a dedicated tab that would surface the best of live content that’s personalized to that individual viewer,” she said.

Better analytics and testing tools to strategize

YouTube wants to hand creators more tools on-platform to understand how their content is faring and how to best strategize for future production.

In addition to its thumbnail A/B testing tool, which launched in 2024, YouTube is rolling out a video A/B testing tool where creators can upload three versions of the same video with different pacing or tone, and the platform will tell you which one kept people watching the longest.

“Content doesn’t really have a shelf life [on YouTube],” Aijaz said. “A lot of these updates reinforce that. You can go back and test new thumbnails on a video you uploaded a year ago.”

Since the tool gives creators feedback before they publish, it’s also a rare chance to adjust their content for their desired audience, pulled straight from YouTube rather than a third-party app. “Usually [it’s] something you only find out after the video goes live and you look at your retention graph, and by then it’s kind of too late,” Aijaz said. 

Creator and What’s Trending founder Shira Lazar thinks this could help smaller creators. 

“Creators spend a lot of time guessing what might work. If these tools can help us make stronger decisions and save time without flattening everyone into the same creative formula, that is genuinely valuable,” she said. 

YouTube is also adding the ability for creators to see how others are performing across specific topics, which could help them strategize. 

The real question is whether this leads to content on the platform feeling too samey and formulaic, and whether the trade-off is worth it for creators who gain clearer signals on what works.

More ways to build community on-platform

YouTube is adding an on-platform direct messaging feature that includes video sharing and group chats, as well as members-only communities, not unlike Substack or Discord.

YouTube creator Jenny Hoyos, who has nearly 12.5 million followers, told Digiday she wants everything in one place. “It just makes it easier…I already have so much work with all these different apps, and then you have even more apps just to have a community…it’s a lot, not just for us as the creator, but also getting the audience to convert,” Hoyos said. 

AI tools to help with editing and monetization

YouTube wants to corner the creator space with AI tools that both bolster creativity and protect creators. 

It’s adding to its suite of AI editing tools, including conversational editing and the ability to use the Ask Studio feature on mobile. It’s also adding audio to its AI-supported likeness detection, which launched earlier this year.

“Say you’re really passionate about YouTube but you don’t know how to structure a video or where to start. At least now you get a starting point from YouTube itself,” Aijaz said. 

The brand/creator ecosystem grows

YouTube announced plans to continue to grow the brand/creator ecosystem it’s built, which includes expanding its affiliate program, localizing products so creators can earn globally, and adding the ability to build pitch decks in studio. 

“We want YouTube to be the most lucrative platform for creators,” Tim Katz, YouTube’s VP of product, said. 

“Anything that makes pitching, reporting and closing deals easier could be especially useful for creators without managers or sales teams,” Lazar said.