YouTube is enhancing YouTube Music with new AI-driven functionalities aimed at simplifying how listeners unearth music, investigate artists, and locate podcasts they might otherwise overlook.

Revealed during this year’s Made On YouTube event, the updates feature “Ask Music,” a chat-based tool for music and podcasts, alongside “Your Podcast Lineup,” a customized audio guide intended to assist listeners in discovering fresh shows.

Integrated directly into the YouTube Music app, Ask Music enables users to articulate what they wish to hear in casual language instead of hunting for specific tracks or artists. This functionality operates within YouTube Music’s extensive collection of over 300 million songs, which includes official tracks, remixes, live shows, covers, and DJ performances. Users can utilize it to create tailored listening playlists, investigate an artist’s influences, or delve into musical history.

YouTube underscores that, rather than conducting a manual search, users can simply phrase their request as they would ask a friend. For example, one might ask Ask Music to generate a mix inspired by a specific song. Users can also pose various questions, like identifying the bassist on a particular track or other specifics about its production.

Additionally, YouTube Music is launching Your Podcast Lineup, a tailored AI-created audio resource for discovering podcasts.

This feature addresses a common issue: the overwhelming number of podcasts exceeds the time most individuals can allocate for listening. Even fans with an established list of preferred shows often find it difficult to stay updated with new episodes, much less uncover new ones.

Your Podcast Lineup will appear on the podcast section within the YouTube Music app. Each week, it will deliver a brief spoken preview of recommended programs and clarify why these suggestions might be of interest to the user. It will then seamlessly transition into recommended episodes.

Spotify recently launched an AI-based feature with a similar approach. Its personal podcasts function employs AI to curate podcast episodes based on users’ interests and prompts.

These new features form part of YouTube’s wider initiative to integrate AI across its offerings. Last year, YouTube Music trialed AI-driven music hosts that deliver stories, fan trivia, and commentary connected to the music users are listening to.

Both updates will soon be available to YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers globally.