On 18 September, YouTube had hosted its annual Made on YouTube event. This year, the free streaming platform announced several new offerings in an effort to support the platform’s creators and audiences.
Among the platform’s various updates, the region can expect to see new features on YouTube that include an AI-powered ‘brainstorming buddy,’ ‘Community’ instead of the comments section, and a new strategy to support the monetisation of creators’ content through television.
The new features were incorporated in an effort to “connect people, ignite creativity, drive businesses, and champion new voices,” wrote Johanna Voolich, Chief Product Officer, YouTube, in a post on YouTube’s blog.
A new creative partner
Creators will now have access to a revamped, AI-powered ‘Inspiration Tab’ on YouTube Studio.
The feature was included as the platform realised the fatigue creators face while consistently churning out new ideas. “Coming up with fresh, engaging ideas can be a challenge. So we’re giving the Inspiration Tab in YouTube Studio a makeover, creating a brainstorming buddy powered by generative AI,” wrote Voolich.
The tool intends to help curate suggestions that creators can draw inspiration from to mold into fully-fledged projects with video ideas, titles, thumbnails, and outlines to match their style.
YouTube also announced that it will introduce a new shortcut to the ‘Inspiration Tab’ from various points on the site like top comments, other videos, or a creator’s on catalog next year.
YouTube Community to be the new comments section
YouTube is taking steps to deepen the connection between creators and their most loyal followers. Introducing the ‘Community’ tab, a feature designed to serve as a dedicated hub for creators and their subscribers.
The new tool will feature on a creator’s pages, transforming YouTuber’s channels into spaces where discussions, fan art, and shared interests can thrive. This has been included by the platform in hopes of fostering a sense of belonging that extends beyond just video content.
Currently available on select channels, the ‘Community’ tab aims to offer creators their own corner of the internet to build vibrant, interactive spaces for fans. YouTube plans to expand this feature across more channels by the end of the year.
Alongside Communities, YouTube is also overhauling its comments tab on the YouTube Studio app.
“Responding to lots of comments can be overwhelming, so we’re adding AI-enhanced reply suggestions tailored to [a creator’s] style, giving [them] a helpful starting point that [they] can easily customise to craft responses,” wrote Voolich.
The platform said users can also expect to see more time-saving tools like a community spotlight and audience metrics as additions to YouTube’s offerings soon.
New ways of monetising content
YouTube claims to be the only platform that shares revenue with creators at scale, across multiple formats.
“Our YouTube Partner Program pays out more than any other creator monetisation platform, and we’ve paid $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years,” wrote Voolich. “As our creator ecosystem has grown, we’ve continued to invest in expanding the ways more creators can make it.”
The platform noticed an in consumption of long-form YouTube videos through televisions over hand-held devices. “The number of creators making a majority of their YouTube revenue on TV screens is up more than 30 per cent year over year,” Voolich wrote.
To encourage the generation of revenue through TV-viewing, the platform has set up a way for creators to organise their content into seasons and episodes, ‘making it easy for viewers to tune into the new must-see TV.’
The platform is planning for further improvements to the TV-viewing experience with immersive content that plays directly from a creator’s channel, streamlined subscription options and easier access to links in descriptions currently in the works.
With these new updates, YouTube hopes to emphasise its commitment to innovating for its global community of creators.
