Images are the last thing you would think about when someone says YouTube Shorts. It"s another short-video format, on the lines of TikTok, that feeds you a virtually unending stream of videos. However, it seems like YouTube has had a change of heart and is more in love with images.
YouTube announced that it wants to show image posts in the Shorts feed as part of its latest experiment to boost creators" audience reach. It said that all image posts made using the "Create" button may appear in the Short feed during the test.
The Google-owned platform added that creators can add up to 10 images or animated GIFs in a post. Note that YouTube is no stranger to image posts and already allows creators to share pictures on their channels. It is following Instagram"s lead, which shows image posts with background music in its Reels feed.
For now, the image posts feature doesn"t support background audio; however, YouTube has plans to add it in the future. "We know audio is an important tool to help you express yourself and tell your story, so we’ll keep everyone updated as we explore testing music with this experience," it said.
YouTube has been working on another experimental feature for several months through Google Labs, called Portraits. It lets you interact with and chat with an AI representation of a YouTube creator, helping the creator understand which topics their audience is interested in.
The feature lets you "learn more about topics directly related to participating creators’ content, and creators can share their unique knowledge through this new, interactive format." YouTube has onboarded a small group of creators who have provided the content and sources to build their Portraits.
If you"re 18 years or older, living in the US, you may see a "Talk to Creator"s Portrait" on a participating creator"s channel while using YouTube on a desktop. There is no confirmed timeline for when the Portraits features will be generally available, but YouTube said that it will share more updates in the future after gathering feedback.
Image via DepositPhotos.com