YouTube Rolls Out Multilingual Video Feature, Supporting Millions: Key Facts

YouTube is officially expanding its multilingual audio feature, allowing creators to upload multiple dubs to reach a global audience.

YouTube Multilingual Overview

Have you ever felt like you've stumbled upon a great YouTube video or a helpful tutorial that solved your problem, only to be limited by the language barrier? The good news is that YouTube has just announced the general rollout of multilingual audio to millions of creators worldwide in the coming weeks.

As the name suggests, the feature allows creators to upload dubbed versions in multiple languages, so viewers everywhere can enjoy videos in their preferred language. ' Now, when a creator in the US releases a new video, a fan in Korea, Brazil, or India can watch it in their native language in a matter of seconds ,' YouTube shared.

To use it, simply open a YouTube video, tap the gear icon in the player, and select 'Audio track'. This will bring up a list of languages available in the video.

In fact, YouTube has been testing this feature since early 2023 with a limited group of creators. However, multilingual audio is not a new thing. Major platforms like Netflix and Prime Video have been using it for a long time. Even before the streaming era, DVDs and Blu-rays supported up to eight audio tracks for a single movie.

What makes YouTube different is its scale: the number of languages is virtually unlimited. For example, YouTuber Mark Rober (former NASA engineer) has videos in an average of 30 languages, and the pilot program also includes MrBeast and Jamie Oliver.

According to YouTube statistics, videos with multilingual dubbing receive more than 25% of their watch time from non-native speakers. This feature also helps videos increase their views significantly, as was the case with a popular food channel.

Not only that, YouTube is also testing multilingual thumbnails, allowing creators to customize thumbnails to match the language viewers choose.