YouTube is testing AI Overviews in search results

Google’s AI Overviews have had a rough run with search results, and now they’re coming to YouTube.

In a blog post this week (h/t MacRumors), Google announced it has been “experimenting with a new video results carousel” on its video streaming platform that will add algorithmically generated summaries and suggestions in search.

“This new feature will use AI to highlight clips from videos that will be most helpful for your search query, providing another way to discover content when searching on YouTube as well as discover topics and information related to your search query,” Google’s post reads. The company added that the AI search results on YouTube will be focused on shopping and travel searches.

The feature will function exactly like Google’s AI Overviews for search, a tool that’s very much stumbled through its first year. Google launched the feature for U.S. users in May 2024 then worldwide in October to dubious results, hallucinations, mistakes, memes, and fudged answers. Essentially, things got immediately weird. Exactly how all this will go with a video streaming platform is beyond our wildest nightmares, but hey, it’s happening.

Google said it was rolling out tests of YouTube AI Overviews “to a small number of YouTube Premium members in the U.S. for some English search queries.”

In the meantime, Google’s AI Overviews’ latest trick in search is that the feature will explain any nonsense phrase you make up. Get creative.