YouTube Introduces New Experimental 'notes' Feature For Its Videos

(RTTNews) - Alphabet's YouTube has introduced a new feature called "notes" in its blog, which allows users to add experimental community-sourced context to videos.

The feature enables people to contribute relevant and easy-to-understand information to videos, including clarifying parodies, noting new product versions, and correcting misrepresentations of older footage as current events.

YouTube has mentioned that a select group of eligible contributors will be invited to participate in testing the feature to enhance systems before potential expansion. To be eligible, contributors must have an active YouTube channel adhering to the Community Guidelines.

Over the next few weeks and months, notes will start appearing on U.S. videos for viewers, with third-party evaluators assessing their helpfulness to inform system improvements. These evaluators are individuals who already provide feedback on YouTube's search results and recommendations.

As the pilot progresses, contributors may also be involved in rating the notes themselves. YouTube clarified that the pilot will be available on mobile in the U.S. and in English to start. They emphasized that although the initiative is in its experimental phase, they anticipate mistakes during the test phase, such as notes that aren't a great match for the video, or potentially incorrect information, and that's part of how they'll learn from the experiment. .