Google unveiled a feature called Ask YouTube at a briefing ahead of its I/O 2026 conference that searches the platform's catalog of long-form videos and Shorts to answer complex queries, then directs users to the specific timestamp in a video where the answer appears, according to a report by CNET.
The feature is designed to make video search faster and more precise. When a user submits a complex question, Ask YouTube surfaces a relevant video and jumps directly to the relevant moment, rather than presenting the full video from the beginning.
That design raises questions about how video creators earn money. YouTubers typically depend on viewers watching large portions of their videos, which drives advertising revenue, subscriber growth, sponsorships, affiliate links, and fan funding. A viewer who lands at a specific timestamp to get a single answer and then leaves may not generate the same engagement that supports those income streams.
Google made a comparable change to web search when it introduced AI Overviews in late 2024. That feature scrapes information from websites and summarizes it at the top of search results. According to a February report by marketing and research firm Ahrefs, AI Overviews reduce clicks to other websites by 58 percent. Google has disputed that figure, claiming that links included in AI Overviews receive more clicks than traditional search listings for the same queries.
AI Overviews has grown rapidly. Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated during last year's I/O 2025 keynote that the feature had over 1.5 billion users per month. In a blog post published alongside the I/O 2026 keynote, Pichai wrote that the number had grown to over 2.5 billion users per month. The feature cannot be turned off by users and appears automatically in search results.
Ask YouTube is set to launch initially for YouTube Premium subscribers before a broader rollout to the full platform at an unspecified later date. Google has not announced a timeline for the wider release.