YouTube unveils AI tools and fan features at Made on YouTube 2025

YouTube on Tuesday unveiled a broad set of generative AI tools and fan-engagement features at its Made on YouTube 2025 event, promising to reshape how creators produce content and how artists connect with listeners. The announcements covered new capabilities for Shorts and YouTube Studio, AI-generated visuals for podcasts, expanded monetization and live-streaming tools, and music-focused features such as presave countdowns and exclusive fan content.

On the music side, YouTube said YouTube Music will let users presave upcoming singles or albums and display a live countdown on album pages, artist profiles and album shelves to build anticipation ahead of release dates. The company said presaves will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, with some countdown and related features arriving later this year. Early next year, artists will be able to deliver exclusive thank-you clips, behind-the-scenes videos and other fan-only content, and YouTube is piloting exclusive merchandise drops for U.S. listeners. The company did not provide precise launch dates for every feature. Reports noted similar offerings from rival platforms, including Spotify, reflecting increasing competition to...