YouTube adds Ask YouTube, Gemini Omni

Google used its I/O 2026 announcements this week to push YouTube further into AI-assisted search and creation. The company introduced Ask YouTube, a conversational search tool that lets users ask natural-language questions about videos, and added Gemini Omni to Shorts remixing and the YouTube Create app, according to Google and YouTube announcements. TechCrunch reported that Ask YouTube is available first to U.S. Premium subscribers on desktop through YouTube’s experimental tools. The Verge reported that Shorts users can now use AI to restyle clips or place themselves into other creators’ videos. ### What does Ask YouTube actually do inside the app? Ask YouTube lets users search with follow-up questions instead of relying only on keywords. TechCrunch reported that YouTube will compile relevant Shorts and long-form videos and generate a response, allowing users to keep refining what they want to find. 9to5Google reported the feature is being piloted for Premium members age 18 and older. (blog.google) Google framed the broader change at I/O 2026 as part of a push to make AI useful across everyday products. In its May 20 roundup of I/O announcements, Google said Gemini Omni is a new model that can create from multiple inputs, starting with video, while Search and discovery products are also getting more conversational AI features. (techcrunch.com) ### Why is Gemini Omni showing up in Shorts? Gemini Omni is being used to power a new layer of remix tools for YouTube Shorts. TechCrunch reported that YouTube is adding the model to Shorts Remix and to the YouTube Create app. Google said at I/O that Gemini Omni is built for multimodal understanding and editing, starting with video generation and manipulation. (blog.google) The Verge reported that the new Shorts workflow adds a “reimagine” option under the remix icon. That option lets users prompt the system to change a clip’s style or appearance, including transformations such as turning footage into different visual formats or inserting themselves into a video. ### What changes for creators when remix becomes easier? (techcrunch.com) YouTube said, in reporting cited by TechCrunch, that “Remixing with Omni delivers a fresh way for users to create and build on each other’s imagination.” TechCrunch also reported that YouTube said the model handles more complex video and audio adjustments behind the scenes. (theverge.com) The practical effect is that more Shorts can be generated from existing Shorts, with less manual editing. That inference follows from YouTube’s new remix flow and Google’s description of Omni as a multimodal editing model, though YouTube has not publicly attached usage figures to the feature yet. ### Why does conversational search matter for video discovery? (tech.yahoo.com) Ask YouTube changes discovery by treating video more like a question-and-answer surface. TechCrunch reported that the feature can pull from both Shorts and long-form videos when responding to prompts, which gives explanatory clips another route into search results beyond titles, tags and thumbnails. (theverge.com) That could favor creators who make direct, query-friendly videos. This is an inference based on how conversational retrieval works in YouTube’s new search flow, not a claim Google has formally quantified. If users ask specific questions and YouTube assembles answers from video, clips that clearly address those questions may be easier for the system to surface. (techcrunch.com) ### Who gets these features first, and what should users watch next? U.S. Premium subscribers on desktop are the first public testing group for Ask YouTube, according to TechCrunch. Shorts users are seeing the AI remix option through the remix button, The Verge reported, as Google expands Gemini Omni across consumer products announced at I/O on May 19 and May 20. (techcrunch.com) Google’s next public marker is likely to be broader product rollout notes on YouTube and Google blog channels, where the company has been posting I/O 2026 updates and feature summaries. As of May 21, 2026, Google has described the tools, but has not published a timetable in the sourced reports for a wider Ask YouTube release beyond the current test group. (blog.google) (techcrunch.com)