The updates were unveiled during the Made on YouTube 2026 event, where YouTube previewed a handful of features slated for release to global YouTube Premium and Music Premium users before the end of the year.
Ask Music will be accessed via a new Gemini spark icon placed in the top‑right corner of the mobile app. Tapping the icon slides up a chat sheet with a prompt box at the bottom of the screen, supporting voice input and offering suggested queries such as “Create a mix,” “Discover artists,” and “Find podcasts.”
Beyond the dedicated entry point, the conversational assistant will appear contextually throughout YouTube Music – for example when users edit a playlist or generate a mix – and will include new “agentic” capabilities that let listeners customize their queue or explore deeper artist information.
The second announced feature, called “Your Podcast Lineup,” is described as a personalized AI‑audio guide that delivers a weekly spoken preview of recommended podcasts, explaining why each show might appeal to the listener and suggesting specific episodes. The experience is designed to be completely eyes‑optional and hands‑free, leveraging YouTube’s audio‑generation AI technology.
Both features are slated for testing later this year and will be rolled out worldwide to subscribers of YouTube’s paid tiers, expanding the platform’s AI‑driven personalization tools across music and podcast content.