The race to push conversational AI into the living room is heating up, with YouTube the latest to extend its tool to smart TVs, game consoles and streaming devices.
Previously limited to mobile devices and the web, this experimental feature now brings conversational AI directly to the home’s biggest screen, allowing users to ask questions about content without leaving the video they’re watching.
According to YouTube support pageeligible users can click the “Ask” button on their TV screen to summon the AI assistant. The feature offers suggested questions based on the video, or users can use their remote’s microphone button to ask anything related to the video. For example, they can ask about recipe ingredients or the background of a song’s lyrics and get instant answers without pausing or exiting the app.
Currently, this feature is available to a select group of users over 18 and supports English, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean.
YouTube first launched this AI chat tool in 2024 to help viewers explore content in greater depth. The expansion to TVs comes as more Americans now access YouTube through their TVs than ever before. A Nielsen report from April 2025 found that YouTube accounted for 12.4% of total TV audience time, surpassing major platforms such as Disney and Netflix.
Other companies are also making significant strides with conversational AI technologies. Amazon has launched Alexa+ on Fire TV devices, allowing users to engage in natural conversations and ask Alexa+ for customized content recommendations, search for specific scenes in movies, or even ask questions about actors and filming locations.
Meantime, Roku has improved the AI voice assistant to handle open-ended questions about movies and shows, like “What’s this movie?” or “How scary is it?” Netflix is also testing its AI search experience.
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Another way YouTube has tried to improve its TV experience with artificial intelligence is the recent launch of a feature that automatically enhances Full HD videos uploaded to a lower resolution.
In addition, the company continues to roll out other AI features, such as a comment summary that helps viewers follow video discussions and an AI-powered search results carousel. In January, the company announced that creators will soon be able to make Shorts using AI-generated versions of their own likeness.
Last week, YouTube also released a special app for Apple Vision Pro, allowing users to watch their favorite content on a virtual cinema-sized screen in an immersive environment.
