YouTube's innovative 'Ask' feature is powered by AI. Credit: Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Just a week after Google's "Made by YouTube" event, the company has started rolling out its conversational AI chatbot on the platform, offering users a new way to interact with videos.

The groundbreaking "Ask" button, a generative AI feature, is currently available exclusively to YouTube Premium subscribers on Android devices, allowing them to engage with videos in a more dynamic way.

First previewed late last year, the "Ask" button is a mobile-only tool that enables users to retrieve specific information from videos, such as an ingredient list from a cooking tutorial or additional details about a music video, as demonstrated by YouTube on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Unlocking the Power of YouTube's AI

For those eager to try out YouTube's innovative AI feature, there's a catch: it's not available on every video. According to YouTube's support page, the "Ask" button only functions on "select English videos," which means it's accessible on approximately 28% of the platform's nearly 3.9 billion videos — a significant limitation.

On the bright side, if you're not a YouTube Premium subscriber, the AI tool is still available on some academic learning videos, giving non-paying users a limited opportunity to experience it firsthand. The Ask button appears below the video player as a pill-shaped option next to the Share button, or as a swipeable option within the comments box.

As mentioned above, the tool is also only available on Android devices, with no word yet on whether it's coming to web or iOS. To learn more about how AI is revolutionizing video content, visit t8tech.