YouTube is expanding its conversational AI tool to television platforms, including smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices. This experimental feature, originally launched on mobile and web platforms in 2024, allows users to ask questions about video content without pausing the video or navigating away from the app.
According to YouTube’s support page, eligible users can activate the assistant by selecting the “Ask” button displayed on the TV screen. The interface provides suggested questions tailored to the specific video. Alternatively, users can press the microphone button on their remote to ask custom questions regarding the content, such as ingredients for a recipe shown in a video or background information on a song’s lyrics. The system delivers answers instantly on screen while playback continues.
The TV expansion is currently available to a select group of users over the age of 18. The tool supports five languages: English, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean.
This release coincides with a shift in viewing habits. A Nielsen report from April 2025 indicates that YouTube now accounts for 12.4% of total television audience time in the United States, surpassing traditional competitors like Disney and Netflix.
YouTube is not the only platform enhancing TV interfaces with artificial intelligence. Amazon recently deployed Alexa+ on Fire TV devices, which allows for natural conversation, specific scene searching, and queries regarding actors or filming locations. Roku has similarly updated its voice assistant to answer open-ended questions, such as “How scary is this movie?” Netflix is also testing an AI-powered search experience.
Beyond conversational tools, YouTube has introduced other AI features for the TV experience. The platform recently launched a tool that automatically upscales lower-resolution videos to full HD. It has also added a comments summarizer and an AI-driven search results carousel. In January, YouTube announced that creators would soon be able to produce Shorts using AI-generated versions of their own likeness. Last week, the company launched a dedicated app for the Apple Vision Pro, offering theater-sized viewing in an immersive environment.
