Are you tired of the same types of videos every time you log on to YouTube? The video streaming platform offers a new way to shake up what you see on your home feed with AI.
YouTube is rolling out a new feature that lets you create a personalized feed based on a prompt describing your interests. In its announcement, YouTube suggests prompts such as unwinding after work with 10-minute guided meditations or something different from your usual interests. And you can save your prompt as a pin to the top of your home page to come back to. The AI Personalized Stream feature is available now and rolling out to logged-in U.S. viewers on the YouTube mobile or desktop app.
Learn more: Google I/O 2026 recap: everything is announced
How YouTube’s new AI feature works
Here’s how it works: You tap the “Your Custom Feed” bullet on the home page and enter a prompt describing the video you’re looking for. You can also choose from YouTube’s suggested prompts for a personalized feed. YouTube says you can change the prompt at any time, but each account can only have one custom feed.
“Customized feeds will display videos that are most relevant to the specific topics or themes they have set and prompts will expire after a few weeks of inactivity,” a YouTube representative said in an email to CNET.
The rep said each account can only have one custom feed and it will be available on web and mobile in the United States. It’s unclear if or when the feature will be available internationally or on TV apps.
To enable the feature, you will need to enable your search and watch history in your account settings. Google recommends using the Help Center if you have difficulty using this feature. YouTube has not indicated what data will be used to generate the stream or whether it will be recorded.
The AI-powered personalization tool is one of several AI updates for YouTube, including automatic AI detection and clear labels for AI-generated content. And Google’s Ask YouTube is a search feature that will find the exact part of a video that answers your question.
Watch this: “Ask YouTube” AI, Apple Watch Legal Victory, and Social Media Scams | Technology today
The problem with content creation and AI
The big question is what YouTube’s new AI feature will mean for content creators. We don’t know how the tool will interpret the prompts, whether based on your watching history or keywords. Will this focus on already popular videos? And will it focus on newer creators or those with high view counts?
AI features are increasingly appearing in search results, and publishers and content creators often see their traffic decrease as a result. It’s possible that a similar result could happen on YouTube.
