YouTube Premium members can jump straight to the good stuff with the new feature now available

YouTube is reportedly testing a new feature that uses AI to allow users to skip to the point in a video where most viewers start watching, according to a new report.

According to 9to5Google, this Jump Ahead feature was tested on a small group of YouTube Premium users back in March, but now the feature is more widely accessible via the YouTube Labs page. However, when YouTube launched the experiment, some users were automatically logged in, so we're not entirely sure how “small” the original experiment was.

By leveraging AI and playback data, YouTube can now identify key points of interest in videos, including the parts viewers often skip and the parts where they tune in. The new feature is easy to activate and takes advantage of the double-tap to skip feature that is already prominent in the YouTube app.

Once you double-tap to skip a video, a Skip Forward button will appear in the bottom right corner. However, the button disappears in case users just want to skip a few seconds of the video. When you press the button, the video skips to where most viewers normally skip. The video also displays an overlay that says “Skip frequently skipped section” with the Premium logo, similar to the Premium controls features.

For most viewers, this feature could save seconds on a timed viewing or simply skip to the most viral clip. However, it is worth noting that the feature does not work for every video available on the site. Rather, it seems to work for those who have a lot of views to identify points of interest.

Additionally, the Jump Ahead feature is only available for the YouTube Android app in the US and for English videos. Premium subscribers must sign up for the experiment on the YouTube Labs page or via the YouTube app settings. The experiment is scheduled to end on June 1, 2024, but we speculate that this date could be extended.

More new YouTube features

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The new trial of the Jump Ahead feature joins the Ask feature that debuted on YouTube Premium late last year. The feature also leveraged AI in the form of a conversational chatbot to help users ask questions about videos and summarize comments.

The “Questions” button on the video page allowed users to “interact with the AI” to learn more about the video’s content, offer additional video recommendations, and summarize the video to make the content easier to digest. The responses were generated by large language models that reportedly obtained information from YouTube as well as other sources on the Internet.

YouTube also recently began imposing stricter rules on creators to disclose whether videos contain “altered or synthetic” content, including generative AI. Creators must now flag when they upload realistic-looking content that could be mistaken for real footage. Anything that contains unrealistic videos, animations or special effects is exempt – even if Gen-AI was involved in the production.

While no enforcement actions have been described, YouTube says consistent non-disclosure will result in the platform automatically labeling videos containing AI-generated content, particularly if they could mislead or confuse viewers.

YouTube Premium members can jump straight to the good stuff with the new feature now available

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