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Several new products are available on YouTube, but only a select group of paying customers can currently try them out. The latest features to roll out for YouTube Premium subscribers include an AI-powered “jump ahead” button and a tool that generates and downloads YouTube Shorts playlists for offline consumption.
YouTube announced back in March that it was testing the ability to let viewers jump ahead in the videos they’re watching. The feature is distinct from the “skip forward” option. All YouTube users can still move forward ten seconds by double-clicking or double-tapping, but the new jump ahead button offers a more expedient means of fast-forwarding videos.
Rather than requiring users to tap away until they reach the part of the video they’re seeking, the jump ahead button uses AI insights to determine the “best parts of a video,” according to a YouTube blog post. That prediction will also factor in existing viewership data.
Other new YouTube features concern its Shorts format. On Android devices, Premium subscribers can now drop their Shorts into a picture-in-picture window, thus freeing up the rest of their screen to browse other apps and websites. YouTube is also turning on “smart downloads” for Shorts. Users who take the feature for a spin will be able to watch “a fresh batch of entertaining Shorts” that will download automatically to their devices and be available for offline viewing.
AI-powered features are becoming more common within YouTube’s product updates. Artificial intelligence plays an important role in the function of the jump ahead button, and it can answer user queries in a “conversational” tone thanks to a new “Ask” option.
As has become the norm for YouTube, the new features are only available for Premium subscribers. There’s a good chance that all of these updates will eventually roll out for all users. That’s what YouTube did for its gaming hub Playables, which it first tested among its Premium community. But the only way to ensure immediate access to the jump ahead button is to pay the price. The basic YouTube Premium plan currently costs $13.99 in the U.S.
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