YouTube is testing an integration with Google Gemini to help creators brainstorm video ideas, titles and thumbnails. The Google-owned company announced the launch of the new Gemini brainstorming feature in a video posted to its Creator Insider channel.
A YouTube spokesperson told TechCrunch that the feature is being offered to select creators as part of a small, limited experiment, and that YouTube will consider creator feedback before deciding whether to roll it out more broadly.
The new tool could give YouTube an edge over other social media video platforms that creators frequent because it offers features not available on competing platforms. Additionally, Google is incorporating AI into its video platform to encourage creators to use its AI tools instead of other popular platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Brainstorming with Gemini is similar to another AI feature YouTube began testing in May: an AI-powered content inspiration tool that gives creators ideas for video topics that interest their viewers and generates an outline of talking points to jump-start the creation process.
A spokesperson told TechCrunch that creators will now be able to get similar help, but through Gemini, the brand name for the family of AI large-scale language models used in many Google products. YouTube sees the new feature as a way for creators to decide whether they prefer the Inspiration tool, the Gemini integration, or both, when it comes to getting help with content ideas.
Creators taking part in the experiment will open YouTube Studio, type a video idea into the search bar and will see two options: the Inspiration tool and Gemini brainstorming. The Inspiration tool already helps creators come up with video ideas, but YouTube wants to test whether Gemini brainstorming can help creators as well.
While platforms like TikTok and Instagram are currently focused on using generative AI to enable creators to create digital versions of themselves, YouTube is focused on using the technology to empower creators to make content for themselves.