YouTube Expands AI-Powered Search Carousel for Premium Users.

Key Takeaway.

• YouTube tests an AI-powered search carousel for faster, visual content discovery.
• Available to U.S. Premium users via YouTube Experiments.
• Designed to make video discovery faster and more visual for topics like shopping, travel, and activities.

Still scrolling endlessly for the perfect video? YouTube has just made discovery smarter and faster. The platform is rolling out its AI-powered search results carousel to even more YouTube Premium users across the U.S.—and it’s looking like a slick upgrade.

First introduced in June, YouTube Expands AI-Powered Search Carousel for Premium Usershis experimental feature appears at the very top of certain search results, especially those related to shopping, travel, or local experiences. Instead of sifting through countless thumbnails, you’ll now see a visually rich row of curated videos—each wrapped with a concise, AI-generated topic description. Think of it as your personalized highlight reel based on what you’re querying, like “best beaches in Hawaii.” YouTube’s interface becomes cleaner and more useful, cutting straight to the content you’re after.

How To Try YouTube Carousel Feature.

If you're using YouTube Premium in the U.S. on the mobile app (iOS or Android), give it a go while the feature is live through August 20—that’s the current window YouTube has opened up for wider testing. To opt in, head to your YouTube Premium New Features page and enable the carousel experiment. If all goes well, this smart search tool might roll out to more regions or even non-Premium users later on.

Steps to use Carousel Feature in YouTube:

Step 1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device (iOS or Android).

Step 2. Ensure you're signed in to a YouTube Premium account — the carousel is currently limited to Premium subscribers in the U.S.

Step 3. Search for a topic that typically triggers the AI carousel — especially queries like shopping, travel, or “things to do in [location]”.

Step 4. Look for the AI-powered carousel at the top of the search results. It will feature:

• A large highlight video that matches your query.
• Below it, a row of curated thumbnail videos related to your topic.
• An AI-generated text snippet summarizing the search topic.

Step 5. Interact with the carousel:

• Tap the large video to play it directly.
• Tap any thumbnail to watch that specific clip.

For Viewers: You get a cleaner search experience and faster discovery, especially useful when planning trips or shopping.

For Creators: AI-powered positioning inside carousels may offer more visibility, but only if your content matches AI-curated trends.

For Marketers: Videos in travel, shopping, and local themes could see a spike in views—AI is essentially elevating heavy-hitting, relevant content.

YouTube’s AI search carousel showcases how generative tools can simplify discovery—bringing the best clips front and center, with less effort. Stay tuned, because if testing is successful, this feature could become a standard across platforms.