YouTube is ramping up its offerings for Premium subscribers with a new feature that leverages artificial intelligence to enhance video navigation. The “Jump ahead” button, first introduced as a small experiment in March, is now rolling out to a broader audience through youtube.com/new, offering a streamlined way to skip over less engaging sections in videos.

This AI-driven feature aims to provide viewers with a smoother and more efficient experience. Instead of relying on manual scrubbing or double-tapping to skip ahead in 10-second increments, Premium members can now jump directly to the parts of the video where most viewers tend to skip. The “Jump ahead” button appears briefly in the bottom-right corner after double-tapping, signaling a point of interest where viewers commonly navigate.

Upon tapping the button, users are presented with a brief overlay that indicates the AI is “jumping over commonly skipped sections.” This allows Premium subscribers to skip ahead with a single tap, streamlining the video-watching process. The technology behind this feature uses AI and extensive watch data to pinpoint the most engaging moments in a video, saving users valuable time.

Currently, the “Jump ahead” feature is available exclusively on the YouTube Android app in the US for English-language videos. Not all videos are eligible, but the common thread seems to be high view counts. To access this experimental feature, you must be a YouTube Premium member. The experiment has a tentative end date of June 1, but YouTube may extend it depending on user feedback and engagement.

The rollout of this AI-powered feature underscores YouTube’s commitment to providing innovative tools that enhance the viewing experience. As YouTube continues to experiment with new capabilities, Premium subscribers can expect more features that make watching videos faster, more enjoyable, and ultimately more engaging.

Source https://9to5google.com/2024/05/05/youtube-premium-jump-ahead/