Home
News
You are here

YouTube is testing an AI that automatically adds chapters to videos

By Mariyan Slavov

Published: Nov 25, 2020, 4:08 AM

YouTube is testing an AI that automatically adds chapters to videos

The YouTube chapters feature is one of the most useful functionalities that the social network has ever added. Normally, people would have to add custom timestamps in the comments below particularly lengthy videos but YouTube made things easier with chapters. The problem is that content creators have to manually add those to their videos and when a channel has hundreds of videos under its belt it’s not an easy task.

Now YouTube has announced that it has begun testing a new AI machine learning algorithm that will try to add timestamps to videos automatically. Information about the test can be found on YouTube’s experiments official page.

[November 23 2020] Testing automatic video chapters: We want to make it easier for people to navigate videos with video chapters, so we are experimenting with automatically adding video chapters (so creators don't have to manually add timestamps). We’ll use machine learning to recognize text in order to auto-generate video chapters. We’re testing this out with a small group of videos. If your videos are impacted, you can opt-out of this experiment and/or share feedback.

It’s not clear how effectively this new AI will tackle the task. If the experiment proves to be successful, the new feature might help YouTube viewers quickly and easily navigate through content.

$20 /mo

$25

$5 off (20%)

Offer Ends 6.1.2026 at 11.59pm ET. New members get $5/mo off the $25/mg Visible plan, $35/mo Visible+ plan, or $45/mo Visible+ Pro plan for the first 12 months. Promo code FRESHSTART required at checkout.

Buy at Visible

View Full Bio

Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.

Read the latest from Mariyan Slavov

YouTube is testing an AI that automatically adds chapters to videos

Get Visible as low as $20/mo for 1 year. Limited time offer with code: FRESHSTART