YouTube is experimenting with allowing an AI to generate summaries for videos.
As Android Police reports, the experiment was mentioned in a YouTube support post from 2019, which regularly gets updated as new features are tested. The latest update, dated July 31, is explained as follows:
"We’re starting to test AI auto-generated summaries on YouTube, so that it’s easier for you to read a quick summary about a video and decide whether it’s the right fit for you."
YouTube is keen to point out these summaries are not meant to replace the video descriptions written by creators. However, in my experience those descriptions can often be somewhat lacking in detail, which may be part of the reason why YouTube decided to experiment with using AI to provide more information.
For now, the auto-generated summaries will only appear on watch and search pages, are only being created for English-language videos, and only for a limited number of videos and viewers. In other words, the chances of you encountering one is quite slim.
YouTube recently increased the price of its ad-free Premium service by $2, taking it to $13.99 per month. On a more positive note, it also made earning money easier for creators and brought back its oldest video-sorting option. However, if you use an ad blocker, don't be surprised if YouTube videos refuse to play now.