YouTube is testing an AI-powered search feature that shows guided answers
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The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now.The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now. Latest AI Amazon Apps Biotech & Health Climate Cloud Computing Commerce Crypto Enterprise EVs Fintech Fundraising Gadgets Gaming Google Government & Policy Hardware Instagram Layoffs Media & Entertainment Meta Microsoft Privacy Robotics Security Social Space Startups TikTok Transportation Venture Staff Events Startup Battlefield StrictlyVC Newsletters Podcasts Videos Partner Content TechCrunch Brand Studio Crunchboard Contact Us Users often search for recipes and travel plans on YouTube to find videos related to their queries. Now, the video platform will offer a new tool to cater to those users’ needs with its introduction of an AI-powered interactive search feature that presents step-by-step results along with a mix of both text and video.Through this new “Ask YouTube” feature, users can ask questions like “plan a 3-day road trip from San Francisco to Santa Barbara” and get step-by-step results, which would be a mix of text, short videos, and longer videos instead of just video results. The company says it will show videos and relevant video segments with titles and channel details to help users discover new creators.What’s more, users can ask follow-up questions like “Where can I get good coffee?” and get suggestions in a similar style. The feature is available to Premium subscribers in the U.S. who are aged 18 or older. (Interested users will need to opt into this experiment through this URL.) Google noted that it is working on making this feature available to non-Premium users, as well.Google has been pushing its AI mode-styled search on multiple surfaces beyond YouTube. The company introduced AI mode last year, letting users ask multi-part questions and follow-ups. This year, it introduced side-by-side web browsing and product price exploration features for AI mode. The company also introduced Gemini’s Canvas feature to maintain projects within AI mode last month.With this new feature test on YouTube, Google could later explore surfacing different kinds of videos along with sponsored placements.TopicsWhen you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing im@ivanmehta.com or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Register now for unfiltered fireside chats and VC insights with leaders from Uber, Replit, Eclipse, and more. Plus, high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage Meta’s loss is Thinking Machines’ gain Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic in cash and compute OpenAI releases GPT-5.5, bringing company one step closer to an AI ‘super app’ Microsoft offers buyout for up to 7% of US employees Duolingo is now giving users access to advanced learning content Unauthorized group has gained access to Anthropic’s exclusive cyber tool Mythos, report claims © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.