YouTube Gets More AI, Big Thumbnails

YouTube is introducing new features for both creators and viewers on the big screen.

For the creators among us, YouTube is expanding the thumbnail file size limit from 2MB to 50MB, which is a massive difference. In turn, this will let thumbnails look as good as possible on bigger screens, which is where a lot of people are watching YouTube these days. Additionally, YouTube is introducing a new AI-powered feature that automatically generates higher resolution for videos.

To start, videos uploaded in HD can be automatically upscaled to FHD. YouTube notes that viewers will be able to choose if they want to watch the video in the original quality. 4K support is in the works.

The homepage is also getting a bit of a facelift for those on TVs. YouTube is introducing “immersive previews” on the homepage. Basically, when you hover over a channel icon, a video from that channel can start playing, similar to what Netflix and other streaming services do.

For viewers, contextual search on TVs is also getting baked in. When a search is initiated on a specific channel page, you will now see videos from that channel prioritized in your search results. This will help you hone in on the exact video you might be looking for, instead of searching the entire YouTube library.

These changes are beginning to roll out right now to viewers.