The race to advance conversational AI in the living room is heating up, and YouTube is the latest company to extend its tools to smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices.
This experimental feature, previously limited to mobile devices and the web, brings conversational AI directly to the largest screens in the home, allowing users to ask questions about content without leaving the video they’re watching.
According to YouTube’s support page, eligible users can summon the AI assistant by clicking the “Ask” button on their TV screen. This feature suggests questions based on the video. Users can also ask questions related to the video using the microphone button on the remote control. For example, if you ask a question about the ingredients in a recipe or the background behind a song’s lyrics, you’ll get an answer right away, without having to pause or exit the app.
This feature is currently available to some users over the age of 18 and supports English, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean.
YouTube first launched this conversational AI tool in 2024 to help viewers explore content more deeply. The expansion to television comes as more Americans than ever before are accessing YouTube through their televisions. According to an April 2025 Nielsen report, YouTube accounted for 12.4% of total TV viewing time, surpassing major platforms such as Disney and Netflix.
Other companies are also making great strides with conversational AI technology. Amazon rolled out Alexa+ on Fire TV devices, allowing users to have natural conversations, ask Alexa+ for personalized content recommendations, look for specific scenes in movies, and ask questions about actors and filming locations.
Meanwhile, Roku has enhanced its AI voice assistant to be able to answer open-ended questions about movies and shows, such as “What is this movie about?” or “How scary are you?” Netflix is also testing an AI search experience.
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Another way YouTube is using AI to improve the TV experience is by recently launching a feature that automatically enhances Full HD videos uploaded at lower resolutions.
Additionally, the company continues to release other AI features, such as a comment summarizer that helps viewers stay on top of video discussions, and an AI-driven search results carousel. In January, the company announced that creators would be able to create short videos using AI-generated likenesses of themselves.
Last week, YouTube also released a dedicated app for Apple Vision Pro, allowing users to watch their favorite content on a theater-sized virtual screen in an immersive environment.
