April 28, 2026, 2:27 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
ChatGPT has fundamentally changed the way we interact with our devices. Instead of a Google search, we open a new chat window to ask a question. The new “Ask YouTube” feature builds on this and aims to make searching for videos and information more intuitive.
Microsoft plans to integrate Copilot and the Bing search engine into a completely new interface for the Edge browser, designed like a classic AI chatbot. Google is also expanding the AI mode in its search engine, allowing users to conduct dialogues in the browser similar to Gemini. Now, the company is taking it a step further by integrating an AI-based search function into YouTube.
YouTube Chatbot for Video Searches
As reported by the online magazine “The Verge,” “Ask YouTube” is intended to make searching on the video platform more intuitive and better organize content. The experimental feature is currently available only to adult Premium users in the U.S.
After activation, an additional button labeled “Ask YouTube” appears in the search bar. Clicking into the bar also brings up search suggestions for specific topics.
Through the button, users are taken to a new page that, similar to the Gemini app, displays cards with various topics–such as “Fix a leaking faucet in the bathroom” or “Inspire me with creative vegetarian meal prep.” Below the cards is a text field for custom search queries.
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Combination of Text and Videos
As is typical with AI chatbots, search results are structured in text and often in bullet points. Given the context–YouTube is the world’s largest video platform–the chatbot combines the response text with relevant videos. According to “The Verge,” these are sometimes marked with timestamps that lead directly to relevant sections. However, it is unclear whether the text generated for the response comes from the corresponding sections in the videos. Both long-form videos and Shorts are included in the results.
Users can then ask further questions, with “Ask YouTube” suggesting a few suitable options. However, the chatbot does not always create tailored responses. For the suggested query “Apollo 11 conspiracy theories,” for example, it only provided a list of thematically appropriate videos, similar to what appears in the classic YouTube search.
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Do Not Rely on Answers
According to “The Verge,” the new YouTube search has mostly delivered appropriate results. However, the author has already noticed a factual error. In a query about the 2015 Steam Controller, the search reportedly explained that it came without joysticks–which is not the case. Such inaccuracies show that users should ideally verify the results, as is common with AI chatbots.
YouTube is reportedly already working on expanding the test. In the future, the feature could also be available to users without a Premium subscription.
YouTube should fix the search instead
“I have been a Premium and power user on YouTube for years, and if there’s one thing that drives me up the wall about the platform, it’s the dreadful search function. You’d think that Google–the literal pioneer of the internet search engine–would have more to offer than whatever the YouTube search is.
In the rare cases when I’m forced to search for a specific video, YouTube suggests all sorts of things. Just not what I need. I know I’m not alone in this, as Reddit is full of posts just as frustrated as I am. I can’t prove it, but like other users, I’m sure that search results with more potential for ads are preferred.
And another thing: Since I practically consume only English-language content, YouTube’s language is set to English and the location to the U.S. Normally, these settings don’t cause any problems. ONLY in the search does YouTube randomly translate some of the video titles into German. Videos that have titles in English on the regular homepage. Videos from creators who present in English and certainly didn’t write their titles in German just for the YouTube search.
Before YouTube works on an additional AI chatbot for search queries, the developers should focus on fixing the actual search. That’s really not too much to ask.”