YouTube’s Shorts Player Gets a Game-Changing Feature—Here’s What It Means for Creators and Viewers

Ever found yourself halfway through a YouTube Short, wondering, “Wait, what’s going on here?”—only to wish you could just ask YouTube itself for the scoop right then and there? Well, buckle up, because YouTube is about to make that wish come true with its new experiment: Ask YouTube inside the Shorts player. Imagine tapping a sparkle icon mid-video and firing off questions about the very Short you’re watching—no more endless scrolling or frantic Googling! This test, rolling out soon but only in English and for viewers 18 and older, promises to fuse instant curiosity with instant answers across desktop, TV, and mobile. Plus, if that’s not enough, YouTube’s adding fresh mobile feeds to help you discover similar creators and related Shorts tailored to your watch habits. It’s like having your own pocket-sized video concierge—except this one talks back with AI smarts! Curious how YouTube’s picking which Shorts get the magic touch? Or wondering when you might get in on this savvy new feature? Stick around—there’s plenty to unpack. LEARN MORE.

YouTube will soon test Ask YouTube inside the Shorts player, letting viewers in the experiment ask questions about the Short on their screen.

YouTube announced on Oct. 12 that viewers “will soon be able to use Ask YouTube directly from the watch page while watching Shorts and live streams.” A Creator Insider video posted the same day describes the Shorts test as a limited, global experiment that’s English only and open to viewers 18 and older. The video’s description also mentions new mobile feeds for finding similar creators and related Shorts.

What YouTube Is Testing

YouTube’s test will put Ask YouTube in the Shorts player on desktop, TV, and mobile. The video’s description reads:

“It’s English only, 18 and older only, but if you’re part of the experiment, you’ll be able to tap or select the sparkle icon on select Shorts and try out pre-populated prompts or ask questions to get details about the Short on your screen.”

The description states that free-form prompts, which are questions viewers compose themselves, are directed to Ask YouTube.

The description also mentions new feeds on Android and iOS, where viewers will be able to “discover similar creators, find related shorts, and explore topics based on your watch history.”

Part Of The Watch-Page Feature

The Shorts test extends the Ask YouTube feature on the watch page, where a button already appears below selected videos. Its help page lists many languages and countries and explains that the feature is available to signed-in users aged 13 and older, or the applicable age in their country, on Android, iOS, computers, and smart TVs.

The Shorts test sets narrower limits on language and age.

In Alphabet’s Q2 earnings remarks, Sundar Pichai shared that over 140 million users engaged with Ask YouTube on the watch page back in June.

The watch-page feature is separate from the search version of Ask YouTube, as I reported in September. YouTube’s Oct. 12 post says it’s bringing the search version to mobile devices, making it available to U.S. viewers across web, mobile, and TVs. The Shorts video’s description doesn’t say where free-form prompts open within Ask YouTube.

Why This Matters

For viewers in the experiment, Ask YouTube could answer questions about some Shorts while they play, as it already does on select videos. YouTube’s new Android and iOS feeds would add a separate way to reach similar creators and related Shorts.

The Creator Insider description doesn’t say how YouTube chooses the “select Shorts,” how the new feeds pick what to suggest, or whether creators get any controls.

Looking Ahead

YouTube’s Oct. 12 post and the Creator Insider description both mention that Shorts support is on its way soon. However, neither provides a specific start date nor specifies which countries will get access. Creators can visit the watch-page help page for more details about Shorts as the experiment begins.

Featured Image: Samuel Boivin/Shutterstock