YouTube ‘Ask’ Button: Gemini AI Comes to TVs

Google is rolling out an “Ask” button powered by its Gemini artificial intelligence directly within the YouTube app on televisions, fundamentally altering how viewers interact with video content. The feature, currently in limited testing, allows users to verbally query videos in real-time, receiving answers generated by the AI.

Until now, YouTube’s television interface has largely been limited to basic remote control navigation. The “Ask” button introduces a conversational AI element, enabling viewers to engage with content in a new way. According to a support page discovered by 9to5Google, the system functions as a chatbot that analyzes the video being played and provides responses to user questions.

The functionality offers pre-written prompts to guide users, but its core strength lies in voice input. Users with microphone-enabled remotes can pose questions using natural language. Google suggests examples such as, “What ingredients are they using in this recipe?” while watching a cooking tutorial, or “What is the story behind the lyrics of this song?” during a music video. The AI then processes the video to deliver an answer.

The rollout is currently restricted to a tiny, select group of users, and no screenshots of the television interface have yet been publicly released. The feature is geographically limited and currently supports only five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Hindi. French is not yet among the supported languages, and Google has not provided a timeline for expansion.

The integration of Gemini into YouTube on televisions represents a broadening of the AI’s reach beyond smartphones and web browsers. Google has been actively integrating Gemini across its suite of applications, including YouTube, Gmail, Drive, and Docs, with the stated goal of enhancing productivity, according to a YouTube tutorial.

Google maintains a dedicated YouTube playlist for updates and tutorials on Gemini, offering users a central resource for learning about the AI’s capabilities. The company has not yet announced a wider release date for the “Ask” button, but promises to provide updates on future expansions of the program.