YouTube tests a new AI fast forward feature to help stop watching videos from being boring

This feature is being tested with some YouTube Premium users in the US.

To be able to predict and jump to sections that followers want to reach, this feature uses user watch interaction behavior data and AI. When users double-tap the screen to fast forward, on eligible videos a new button will appear that jumps to the AI-predicted position in the timeline.

This test is one of YouTube's efforts to make the service more efficient and engaging. Additionally, this seems to be a reasonable strategy for Google's video social network to attract users to switch to Premium.

It is unclear whether this feature can become a regular feature after the company completes testing. However, it may seem strange for an advertising company to offer non-paying users a way to reduce the value of video ad placements.

Recently, YouTube is also testing content recommendations based on the main color of the video. After the user chooses 1 of 3 colors Red, Blue and Green, the feed page will be adjusted based on the selected color.

Marvin Fry

Update 30 March 2024