Made on YouTube 2026: New Features Coming for Shorts, Studio, Livestreaming, Communities, Brand Partnerships
Here are the top updates:
- 👀 Customize your home feed with AI prompts.
- 📺 Shorts Series. Make a microdrama!
- 🦻Audio podcast recommendation guide.
- 📰 Posts in the Shorts feed and on TVs.
- ✂ Conversational video editor for Shorts and YouTube Create.
- ✨Ask Studio on mobile, with more help with understanding metrics and optimizing your videos.
- 🖼 Dynamic thumbnails, matching thumbnail to audience.
- 📊Shorts video A/B testing to help you find the best hook.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Communities: Easier commenting on TVs, AI-powered comment moderation, members-only communities, group messaging.
- 💎 Super-charged Hype with jewels.
- 🔴 “Watch with” expansion to live react to long-form videos.
- 💑 Go Live Together matchmaking.
- 🤼 Live showdowns. Two co-streamers battling for the most engagement.
- 🌍 Live auto-dubbing.
- 🤝 Easier Brand Partnerships.
- 💲Dynamic Ad Insertion.
- 🛍 Ask YouTube Shopping-related chat, expansion of the affiliate program, localized shopping links.
- 🛡Likeness detection adding voice recognition.
Customize Your Home Feed
YouTube has been experimenting with allowing viewers to create multiple custom home feeds that let you curate your viewing experience. These are AI-powered (of course), so you can use natural language to describe the type of videos you want to see including the mood, video length, topics and more. This will now be available for users in the U.S. on the web, mobile and TVs.When? “Soon”.
Impact? Instead of relying on the YouTube algorithm to surface videos to potentially interested viewers, viewers can craft their own feed. It might be useful to have a sense for what types of content viewers are searching for, but I’m not sure how different that will be from simply keeping an eye on trends. I’m sure someone will be selling “secrets to ranking with custom feeds” any time now.
Shorts Series
Microdramas are short vertical episodic dramas (with cliffhangers at the end of each episode) that first became massively popular in China. Now they are gaining popularity in the US and around the world.YouTube’s answer to that is Shorts Series. Like Shows, you can create a special playlists of your Shorts organized into seasons and episodes so viewers can easily watch sequentially.
A viewer in the Shorts feed will see a Watch Series button to watch all the episodes in a special feed.
When? Rolling out now on web, mobile and TV now.
Impact? It’s a popular formula for viewers, so if your videos fit the short episodic storytelling format, this is a great update.
Podcast Discovery
YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers will have access to your podcast lineup. This is an AI-generated audio guide in the YouTube Music app that gives a preview of recommended shows and episodes, including why you might like them.When? YouTube doesn’t say, but I’m guessing soon.
Impact? This has the potential to encourage more podcast listening. Hopefully this will surface smaller podcasts, and not just popular ones.
Posts in More Places
Posts aren’t just limited to desktop.Viewers are now recommended image Posts from inside the Shorts feed on Android and iPhone.
On the other end, Posts are coming to TVs. Viewers will be able to comment right on the big screen.
When? “In the coming months”
When? Early 2027 for Shorts editor and YouTube Create app, for both Android and iPhone.
On the other end, Posts are coming to TVs. Viewers will be able to comment right on the big screen.
When? “In the coming months”
Conversational Video Editing
A new AI tool will help you create a first draft of a Short. You select photos and videos, add a prompt and get a draft. The chat will then offer personalized editing suggestions. You can manually edit the video to create the final version.When? Early 2027 for Shorts editor and YouTube Create app, for both Android and iPhone.
Ask Studio Upgrades
Ask Studio is your AI-powered creative tool in YouTube Studio. It can give feedback on video drafts, suggest thumbnails. New features include:- Availability on iPhone and Android, in addition to the web.
- Help you design new thumbnails for older videos to reach new audiences.
- More insights into channel metrics.
- Research to find “outlier ideas” based on your audience viewing patterns.
When? Soon.
Different audiences may prefer different thumbnails, so YouTube will soon run dynamic thumbnails that will match the best of three different options to different segments of your audience.
When? “Soon”
Dynamic Thumbnails
YouTube is expanding on thumbnail A/B testing, which launched back in 2024.Different audiences may prefer different thumbnails, so YouTube will soon run dynamic thumbnails that will match the best of three different options to different segments of your audience.
When? “Soon”
Shorts A/B Testing
You will soon be able to test up to three different Shorts video versions to see which performs best.
When? “Soon”
Impact? Sometimes you don’t know what will work until you test it. Testing thumbnails and titles on long form videos can help you figure out the version that drives the most watch time. Video A/B testing lets you do the same with Shorts, so you can see which hook works best. But it also has the potential for abuse, so it will be interesting to see how creators use it.
YouTube is testing AI-powered comment moderation that holds incoming comments based on your manual comment removal history. This will be opt-in and comments will not be deleted automatically.
When? This will roll out as an experiment on desktop later this year.
Also coming soon:
Fans will soon be able to “supercharge” their Hype with Jewels. Jewels are paid for, and can also be used to give vertical live streamers Gifts.
When? Currently available in Brazil, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
This is expanding to include reactions to long-form videos.
When? Later this year.
YouTube will be adding live creator matchmaking to select from creators who are currently streaming or jump into a match queue to be automatically paired with another streamer.
When? Early 2027.
Impact? This sounds like it could be a way to expand your audience and have some fun, as long as there are protections in place from trolls and griefers. Unlike Twitch’s Stream Together, it looks like this will be an easy-to-set up mobile feature, which should include more casual streamers.
YouTube says this “creates a fun, competitive dynamic that rallies both communities around a common goal, helping creators grow revenue while giving fans an active way to participate.”
When? In 2027.
Impact? Rallying viewers to give gifts sounds like totally not my thing, but this is probably great for streamers who are already receiving gifts and Super Chats.
This will be expanding to Live auto dubbing, translating your speech in real time as you live stream. This sounds like it may be similar to Google Meet’s real-time live Speech Translation.
When? The pilot will start in early 2027.
Impact? This could help bring more fans to your live stream community, depending on how good the translation and dubbing are. I can also imagine this turning off multi-lingual viewers, especially if the quality of the dub isn’t that good.
YouTube is working on new features, including inserting the segments into 20 videos simultaneous, targeting by region, and a shelf with a call-to-action button.
When? Dynamic brand segments are currently only available through an invite-only pilot program.
Impact? This sounds like a great feature for creators with regular brand deals that might be time limited. Get a new deal? Insert the ad. Deal over? Remove the ad.
Ask YouTube is also getting better at identifying on-screen products, techniques and even equations.
When? If not now, then soon.
On the creator side, there will be new Shopping features.
The next step is adding speaking voice detection, “laying the groundwork for broader voice protections over time.”
Likeness detection will also be made available in the YouTube mobile app, in addition to YouTube Studio on the web.
When? Later this year.
When? “Soon”
Impact? Sometimes you don’t know what will work until you test it. Testing thumbnails and titles on long form videos can help you figure out the version that drives the most watch time. Video A/B testing lets you do the same with Shorts, so you can see which hook works best. But it also has the potential for abuse, so it will be interesting to see how creators use it.
Engage with Comments and Communities
Viewers can post comments directly using voice inputs when viewing on TV, without having to use their phone.YouTube is testing AI-powered comment moderation that holds incoming comments based on your manual comment removal history. This will be opt-in and comments will not be deleted automatically.
When? This will roll out as an experiment on desktop later this year.
Also coming soon:
- Members-only communities. When? Available in early 2027.
- Group messaging. When? Available in November in the US, UK, Singapore, Brazil, and the EU.
- GIFs in comments.
Hype with Jewels
When a fan Hypes a recent video upload, it gets points. High scorers end up on a Hype leaderboard.Fans will soon be able to “supercharge” their Hype with Jewels. Jewels are paid for, and can also be used to give vertical live streamers Gifts.
When? Currently available in Brazil, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Expansion of Watch With
YouTube has been experimenting with “Watch With” live streams that let you React Live to other creator’s streams.This is expanding to include reactions to long-form videos.
When? Later this year.
Go Live Together Matchmaking
Mobile live co-streams have been an option for years, but you had to invite someone to join you with a link.YouTube will be adding live creator matchmaking to select from creators who are currently streaming or jump into a match queue to be automatically paired with another streamer.
When? Early 2027.
Impact? This sounds like it could be a way to expand your audience and have some fun, as long as there are protections in place from trolls and griefers. Unlike Twitch’s Stream Together, it looks like this will be an easy-to-set up mobile feature, which should include more casual streamers.
Live Showdowns
If you have an engaged fan base for your live streams, you will be able to compete with your live stream co-host for the most chats, Super Chats and Gifts.YouTube says this “creates a fun, competitive dynamic that rallies both communities around a common goal, helping creators grow revenue while giving fans an active way to participate.”
When? In 2027.
Impact? Rallying viewers to give gifts sounds like totally not my thing, but this is probably great for streamers who are already receiving gifts and Super Chats.
Live Auto Dubbing
YouTube’s video auto dubbing in multiple languages is currently only available for Shorts and Videos on Demand (VOD), including live stream archives.This will be expanding to Live auto dubbing, translating your speech in real time as you live stream. This sounds like it may be similar to Google Meet’s real-time live Speech Translation.
When? The pilot will start in early 2027.
Impact? This could help bring more fans to your live stream community, depending on how good the translation and dubbing are. I can also imagine this turning off multi-lingual viewers, especially if the quality of the dub isn’t that good.
Brand Partnerships in YouTube Studio
YouTube says they want to make YouTube Studio the “ultimate one-stop-shop for brand partnerships.” If you are eligible for Creator Partnerships, there are new features coming:- Ask Studio will be able to help you craft responses to brand briefs, build pitches and get tops for Media Kit optimization. When? Available in some markets now, available globally in 2027.
- Share access to performance metrics with Brand Partners using a one-click code.
- YouTube is also investing in incentives to agency partners to reward high-impact collaborations. (I’m not sure what this actually means in practical terms.
Dynamic Ad Insertion
YouTube is testing dynamic brand segments. Instead of including a sponsor segment burned directly in a video, this allows creators to both add and remove brand segments in long-form videos.YouTube is working on new features, including inserting the segments into 20 videos simultaneous, targeting by region, and a shelf with a call-to-action button.
When? Dynamic brand segments are currently only available through an invite-only pilot program.
Impact? This sounds like a great feature for creators with regular brand deals that might be time limited. Get a new deal? Insert the ad. Deal over? Remove the ad.
Shopping Updates
Updates to Ask YouTube will make it easier to shop. If you search for a product, you may be shown a comparison table of features and organized video recommendations. Click a video and you can continue asking questions on the video watch page.Ask YouTube is also getting better at identifying on-screen products, techniques and even equations.
When? If not now, then soon.
On the creator side, there will be new Shopping features.
- Expansion of the Shopping affiliate program to 35 countries. When? By the end of the year.
- Tagging Amazon products will expand to India, Brazil and more countries. When? By the end of the year.
- Shopping links will be localized for viewers. When? This started as an experiment at the beginning of September.
- Affiliate campaigns will allow retailers and brands to offer incentives to feature specific products. When? Soon.
Protecting Your Voice
YouTube’s likeness detection tool helps find content that includes your AI-generated or altered face. This is available in most countries to creators at least 18 years old.The next step is adding speaking voice detection, “laying the groundwork for broader voice protections over time.”
Likeness detection will also be made available in the YouTube mobile app, in addition to YouTube Studio on the web.
When? Later this year.
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