YouTube Boosts Its Search Function With New Features

YouTube is improving its search capabilities by adding video previews, expanding global accessibility, and experimenting with search results.

The announcement, made on YouTube’s news blog and reported by CNET, explains how the new features will "help people more easily search and find content on YouTube."

The first change is allowing users to get a preview of the video they’re about to watch on the YouTube mobile app. A video creator can add time-stamped images that list out the different topics covered in their video and allow users to determine if it's of interest. Users also will be to skip directly to a particular section of the video if it’s a portion they are most interested in.

The mobile search page also will play a snippet of the video. This snippet feature is already available on desktop, where users can scroll over a video to view a portion.

The other feature coming to YouTube is increased accessibility and inclusivity for users around the world. Users now will see videos in other languages that have “automatically translated captions, titles, and descriptions…” if there isn’t one in their native language.

Initially, this new feature will affect English videos, but there are plans to expand to other languages. YouTube hopes to have its creators reach new audiences around the globe.

YouTube also is experimenting with a new feature that adds website links and other results from Google to its own search results. This particular innovation is only available on mobile devices in India and Indonesia, but the company is considering expanding the feature elsewhere if users provide positive feedback.