YouTube is adding a new feature to the mobile homepage that’s designed to help users find more content they haven’t seen before.
In turn, this should help channels get more videos discovered by people outside of their existing audience.
The feature is called “New to You” and, as the name suggests, it curates a feed of content that’s new to the individual user.
YouTube users are reportedly voicing complaints that their home feeds are getting stale with the same types of recommendations.
In response, YouTube built New to You, which allows users to explore beyond their typical recommendations and browse different types of videos that are related to their interests.
Here’s more about New to You and how it will help get content in front of more viewers.
YouTube’s ‘New To You’ Feed
YouTube’s new feature will show up on users’ mobile home pages in two ways.
The first way, which YouTube refers to as New to You on refresh, appears at the front of the topic carousel on the top of the screen.
When users tap on it they’ll see a whole new set of recommendations featuring content they haven’t seen before.
The second way users will encounter this feature is on prompt.
New to You on prompt triggers after users scroll far enough down their feed without finding something to watch.
An option directly in the feed will invite users to tap into the New to You feed. It will take users into a new set of exploratory recommendations where they can discover new types of videos.
New to You vs Explore Feed
YouTube makes a point of noting that the New to You feed is different from the Explore feed.
Explore helps viewers on YouTube discover content in specific verticals like gaming, or beauty, or content that is trending worldwide.
Explore isn’t necessarily personalized to individual users, and the recommendations don’t take users’ interests into account.
The New to You feed, on the other hand, is personalized.
With this feature YouTube is aiming for a balance between content users will like, plus content that is a little outside their regular viewing habits.
While users can certainly find new videos from a variety of creators in Explore, it’s not tailored to their viewing history.
Everyone sees a similar set of recommendations in Explore, while the New to You feed is unique to each user.
For more, see the announcement below:
