YouTube Music Introduces AI Artwork, Speed Dial, and Other Enhancements
YouTube Music has recently announced a range of exciting new features that are either currently being rolled out or will be available in the near future. The platform boasts an impressive user base of over 2 billion monthly users, who enjoy a vast library of content including official songs, live performances, music videos, remixes, podcasts, and exclusive YouTube music. These additions have been carefully designed with user feedback and overall experience in mind. Notably, a standout feature is the introduction of generative AI, enabling users to create personalized artwork for their custom playlists.
The AI feature in particular is interesting, as before this playlists only showed artwork for the first four tracks in a grid view. But now users can add any image they want using artificial intelligence. T. Jay Fowler, director of product management at YouTube Music, announced the feature on the official blog: “Starting today, we’re rolling out a new experimental feature for English-speaking US users on YouTube Music that creates a custom playlist. Art using generative AI.”
This feature is experimental, which means it is still being tested. The company has only released it in the US so far, but it should expand to other regions soon. The feature is quite similar to the AI wallpaper feature on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, where users can choose from different categories and then use a pre-written prompt where they can change certain words to create new images in different styles. Categories offered so far include Colors, Bikes, Travel, Moods, Nature, Animals, Landscapes, Food & Drink, Fantasy, Exercise, and Humor.
YouTube’s new features
In addition to this, another interesting feature is the Speed Dial, which is basically a redesign of the “Listen Again” app. According to YouTube, it allows users to quickly return to the music they were playing. This will be placed in the Home tab. But it won’t be available for a while. The blog said, “In the coming months, we’ll be adding a new feature to the Home tab that lets you quickly explore and listen to recurring songs and artists.”
Previously, users would see 20 items in a carousel, but now 9 items are given in a 3×3 grid. They can contain songs, albums and playlists. Tapping an item immediately starts playback in the mini player, not in the full window.
The post also highlighted some of the newly added features for users, such as YouTube Music’s dedicated comment feature, timed lyrics, Create Radio, and the Samples tab.
