YouTube Music tests AI hosts that share trivia and commentary

YouTube Music is testing AI music hosts that provide relevant stories, fan trivia, and commentary about what you’re listening to, the company announced on Friday.

The move comes two years after Spotify launched an AI DJ that delivers a curated selection of music alongside AI-powered spoken commentary about the tracks and artists you like.

YouTube Music’s new feature builds on its ongoing experiments with conversational AI. In July, the service rolled out an AI conversational radio feature that lets users create a custom radio station by describing what they want to hear.

YouTube Music’s new AI hosts are currently being tested through YouTube Labs, the platform’s new hub for AI experiments. In a blog post, the company said YouTube Labs is “a new initiative dedicated to exploring the potential of AI on YouTube.”

YouTube Labs is similar to Google Labs, Google’s experimental arm that lets users test early-stage AI products and provide feedback.

YouTube Labs is open to all YouTube users, which means they don’t need a Premium membership to sign up. However, the company notes that only a limited number of U.S.-based participants will be given access to the experimental program.

YouTube Labs has been implementing AI features across YouTube recently.

Earlier this month, the company released a series of AI features for creators, including GenAI tools for Shorts creation. A few months ago, YouTube launched an AI-powered search results carousel similar to Google’s AI Overviews and expanded access to its conversational AI tool to help users find more information, receive content recommendations, and get video summaries.

While YouTube is embracing AI features, it’s also cracking down on AI slop. The platform recently updated its policies to crack down on creators’ ability to generate revenue from “inauthentic” content, including mass-produced videos and other types of repetitive content.