YouTube lets you ask questions about a video

I just found out YouTube has an AI feature for asking questions directly about the video you’re watching. It’s called “Ask”, and it’s powered by Gemini.

Until now I’d been using Dia Browser, the AI browser from The Browser Company, to ask about whatever was on the web page I had open, YouTube videos included. It turns out YouTube now has a similar feature built right into the app.

On mobile, the button sits next to the Share button: a star icon labeled Ask. Tap it and a chat panel opens. You can pick a suggested prompt or type your own question about the video you’re watching.

I just tried it on the video “Game Theory #3: Rich Dad, Poor Dad” from the PredictiveHistory YouTube channel. I asked: “Why do poor kids eat the marshmallow faster?”

Gemini answered right away, in full, and even gave timestamps pointing to the relevant parts of the video.

This is really useful for summarizing YouTube content.

Before, it went like this: watch a 50-minute video, get confused at minute 20, open a new tab, look for an explanation, and lose the video’s context.

Now it goes like this: watch, tap Ask, ask your question, get an answer plus timestamps, and keep watching.

If you learn a lot from YouTube, it’s worth trying. For me it’s a quick way to get what a video is about without watching all of it.