YouTube plans to let viewers create custom homepage tabs by describing the kinds of videos they want to see. The company announced Custom Feeds at its Made on YouTube event on September 23, alongside a broader group of new tools for viewers and creators.
A viewer could ask for a feed of long documentaries for an evening wind-down, new do-it-yourself creators or podcasts suited to a commute. YouTube says people will be able to save several feeds as dedicated tabs on the homepage, with recommendations refreshed automatically. The feature is coming soon to users in the United States on the web, mobile devices and TVs; the company has not given a more specific launch date.
A more direct way to steer recommendations
YouTube’s usual Home page builds its recommendations from signals such as viewing and subscription activity. Custom Feeds add a clearer instruction: describe an interest, then let YouTube assemble a dedicated stream around it. The company says viewers can save multiple feeds and switch among them from the homepage.
That makes the change less like replacing the recommendation system and more like giving viewers another way to guide it. The ranking still depends on YouTube’s systems deciding which videos fit a prompt. But a direct request could be easier to manage than trying to retrain a single feed after a few searches or a binge on one topic.
The scale helps explain why YouTube is experimenting with discovery controls. The company says more than 20 million videos are uploaded to the platform every day. A larger library gives people more choice, but also makes it harder to find something beyond what the main feed predicts they will watch next.
AI is moving deeper into the creator workflow
Custom Feeds were one part of the Made on YouTube announcements. The company also described a conversational editing assistant for Shorts and the YouTube Create app. Creators will be able to start with a prompt, then ask the assistant to trim pauses, reorder footage or sync edits to music. YouTube says creators can still adjust the timeline manually.
YouTube Studio is also getting personalized feedback on draft videos, channel-matched thumbnail generation and a new video test that will let creators compare up to three cuts. The cut-testing feature is coming soon. YouTube says creators have run more than 40 million title and thumbnail experiments since that A/B testing feature launched in 2024; the new tool extends that approach from packaging into the video itself.
The company is also bringing its likeness-detection tools to mobile, so creators can review matches and take action from a phone. Later this year, YouTube says it will combine speaking-voice detection with facial detection to improve match accuracy. The announcements point to a platform automating more of video production while trying to help creators identify unauthorized uses of their likeness.
What viewers should watch for
Custom Feeds are the most immediately visible change for viewers, but they are not a promise of a fully user-controlled algorithm. YouTube still chooses the videos and ranks them. The useful test will be whether a prompt produces a feed that stays focused over time, especially as new videos are added and interests change.
The idea also reflects a wider shift in platform design: recommendation systems are becoming more conversational. TechCrunch’s report framed the feature as a way for viewers to build a more personal algorithm. YouTube has confirmed the prompts and saved feeds, but it has not yet said how much control people will have over tuning or correcting each feed once it is live.
Sources
- YouTube: Made on YouTube 2026 announcements
- YouTube: Custom Feeds and viewer features
- YouTube: New creator tools and conversational editing
- TechCrunch: YouTube will let viewers build their own algorithm with AI
