YouTube’s Testing a New Shorts Discovery Option to Drive More Usage

YouTube is stepping further into TikTok territory, this time via a test of a new random feed prompt, that guides users towards Shorts content.

As you can see in this example, posted by Android Police, YouTube is trying out a new prompt for when users can’t decide what they want to see in the app.

Which is a significantly different approach, given that people generally head to YouTube with a specific focus in mind. But on TikTok, more people just open up their “For You” feed to see what the algorithm shows them. Which is not how most come into the Shorts feed on YouTube, but could yield similar results, and could lead to more usage and engagement.

According to Android Police, the new feed seems to show users clips based on various signals, including their watch history, subscribed creators/channels, video likes, etc.

So it’s almost an exact replica of the TikTok system, built on top of Shorts, which, given Shorts has seen massive increase in usage of late, makes a lot of sense.

Will that make YouTube more of a random entertainment option, like TikTok, as opposed to a more discovery-focused, intentional viewing option?

It seems like it’s worth an experiment at least, though this test is in limited circulation at present.

But definitely, Shorts should be on your radar as a key option for YouTube, with this new feed potentially further amplifying discovery.