YouTube Tests New AI Features That Let Users Set Home Recommendations Manually

JAKARTA - YouTube is reportedly testing a new artificial intelligence-based feature that allows users to set recommendations on the homepage more personally. This experimental feature is named Your Custom Feed, and is designed so that users can include certain interests through a short prompt, which will then be combined into the platform's recommendation algorithm.

This step shows Google's efforts to give users greater control over the type of content they want to see, while changing the way they find new videos, topics, and channels. A number of users are starting to see the Your Custom Feed option in chip form at the top of the main page.

Through this feature, users simply type certain interests, for example, like a historical podcast' or want more music videos'. The algorithm will try to provide recommendations that match those interests, even if the user's viewing history does not fully reflect the new preferences included.

This system combines the power of a large YouTube algorithm with the manual preferences given by the user, making the recommendation results more relevant and interesting.

However, the feature is still very limited and not yet available for most users. YouTube also has not provided technical details on how the system processes the prompt or how much it affects the built-in algorithm that has been based on viewing history.

Indications, this feature does not change the core recommendation system, but serves as a companion who injects additional preferences so that the recommendation results are more targeted.

So far, the feature is still in the experimental category, and PCMag reports that some test accounts cannot access it. For users included in the trial, how to access it is quite simple: just click on the Your Custom Feed option, then type in the interests or types of videos you want to see more frequently in the prompt box. After that, the system will start entering that preference to recommendations on the homepage.

YouTube reminds users not to be confused about this AI feature and the Customize Your Feed introduced in 2024. The old feature relies on an upvote and downvote system from a video sample, while this new feature uses AI to understand the user's interest in the textual prompt.

The Your Custom Feed' feature has the potential to change the way users explore content on YouTube, as well as show how AI continues to be used to improve personalization experiences on the biggest video-sharing platform.