YouTube has launched an initiative called Labs, which invites users to explore what the platform will look like in the future. This future seems to be heavily influenced by artificial intelligence.
According to the streaming service, Labs will showcase some of the AI features being developed for YouTube Music, starting with AI “hosts” that will interact with you as you enjoy your music.
These AI music hosts are designed to enhance your listening experience. While you enjoy your favorite tracks, the AI will produce short audio clips that are similar to, but not as lengthy as, the faux podcasts you can create using NotebookLM.
The AI host named “Beyond the Beat” will occasionally interrupt with interesting stories, trivia, and insights related to your musical preferences. YouTube indicates that this feature will be active when you’re listening to mixes or radio stations.
This new feature aims to create an experience similar to having a radio host engage with you while you listen to your favorite songs.
While it shares some characteristics with Spotify’s AI DJ, the YouTube version does not generate playlists like its competitor.
This technology relies on generative AI, which can sometimes produce inaccuracies or low-quality content that may not be suitable for music.
If you want to participate, you can go to the new YouTube Labs page. Once you sign up, the YouTube Music app will add a new button on the Now Playing screen featuring the familiar Gemini sparkle logo.
By tapping this button, you can temporarily silence the commentary for either one hour or the rest of the day.
However, there isn’t a way to completely turn off the AI host within the app, so if you find that Beyond the Beat is more annoying than enjoyable, you’ll need to opt out of the test entirely.
After signing up for the test a few hours ago, we’ve been eagerly waiting for the AI host to show up, but it hasn’t happened yet.
YouTube mentions that this feature is currently available to a select group of testers in the US, and the frequency of AI interruptions might change as Google collects feedback on how users feel about having a robot share information about music.
Right now, this is the only experiment in YouTube Labs, but the company plans to introduce more AI features soon. This will allow Google to gather user feedback to determine how to implement these features more broadly.
If you have strong opinions about the AI host, it could be beneficial to share your thoughts on the Labs page. YouTube is ramping up its AI initiatives; on the video side, the platform is developing a range of AI tools and is also enhancing some videos automatically, which has not pleased all content creators.
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