YouTube Updates: Audio Library Attributions & Improved Search

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Paawan Sunam
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YouTube has announced a few improvements being rolled out to upgrade Search, along with new features which include audio library attributions designed for videos that contain music along with contextual actions that add an information panel that can initiate call-to-action.

The updates were announced on the Creator Insider channel by YouTube. A few updated features such as improved search or contextual actions may not be available globally to all users at present, as it goes through a gradual rollout or is in the experiment phase.

Audio Library Attributions

This update is for videos that contain music stored in YouTube audio library, going forward viewers will see a 'Music In This Video' attribution on the Watch Page of the particular video.

The intent is to connect users with the music featured in YouTube videos. Music used as background audio has been a substantial part of YouTube, songs overlaid on videos often lead to the music becoming popular. With this feature, it will be easier for users to find the music without doing rounds of searches.

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Search Improvements

YouTube is improving the searchability of videos by revamping visuals and how they affect viewer choices.

Going forward, instead of a static thumbnail which is more often than not a still of the video or a customized image, users will see video chapters that are from the timestamps of the video that categorically divide the full length of the video, directly on the search page itself.

Users will see a smaller thumbnail for each chapter along with the titles outlining topics covered, so they can decide whether they want to watch the video or directly jump to the topics that gauge their interest. On desktop, users can scroll over the video to see a snippet of the video before watching it.

Contextual Actions

The new feature contextual actions introduced by YouTube will suggest actions to users based on what they're watching. For instance, users watching a trailer will be suggested movie reviews, if users are watching a video that mentions a store, they will see store timings and location of that business.

The suggestions will be displayed in the video description. Users can click on these suggestions to see an information panel that they can close and get back to watching the video. The feature is running in an experimental phase on Android and will be expanded further.