YouTube is giving users a way to create their own personalized recommendation feeds, although the company is not quite handing over complete control of its algorithm. On Wednesday, YouTube announced a new feature called custom feeds, which lets users describe in their own words the types of videos they want the platform to recommend.
Creating a custom feed involves entering a description into a prompt box on YouTube. Users can explain what they want the feed to focus on, whether it is built around a particular interest or intended for a specific purpose. For example, YouTube suggests that users could create a feed featuring video podcasts for a 30-minute train commute or ask for something based around a particular mood, such as “relaxing commentary videos to unwind with.”
The feature uses Google’s Gemini AI model to create a feed based on the user’s request. Once generated, the custom feed is pinned to the top of the YouTube homepage in its own tab. Since Gemini powers the feed creation process, users can provide detailed prompts explaining how they want the feed curated, including which types of content should be included or excluded, what should receive priority, and other preferences.
YouTube’s move follows similar efforts from several other social platforms that have introduced tools allowing users to essentially shape their own recommendation algorithms by explaining what they want their feeds to contain and how they want the content presented.
Decentralized social network Bluesky helped popularize the concept several years ago as a way of distinguishing itself from competitors such as X. Earlier this year, the platform introduced an AI tool called Attie, designed to make creating custom feeds easier. Other services, including Meta’s Threads, Instagram, X and, more recently, Spotify, have also introduced their own feed customization tools, with many of these features using AI.
YouTube believes custom feeds will give users a better way to navigate the enormous amount of video content available on the platform.
“One of the amazing things about being on YouTube is that the world is always at your fingertips,” Emily Moxley, YouTube’s VP of Product Management for Viewer AI, said during a briefing with reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Made On YouTube event, where the custom feeds feature was unveiled. “There’s over 20 billion videos in the YouTube corpus, so you’re always one search away from a treasure trove of topics.”
The new custom feeds will not replace YouTube’s primary recommendation feed, which continues to display the platform’s usual personalized recommendations. Instead, users will have the option to quickly switch to whichever custom feed best matches what they want to watch when they open YouTube.
YouTube said support for creating multiple custom feeds will begin rolling out across its web and mobile platforms starting next month.
