YouTube Music is getting two game-changing AI features — here's what they do

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Rolling out now to iOS and Android users

A woman listening to music with headphones
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

YouTube Music has a couple of new ways to discover songs on the platform that started rolling out this week. The new features include AI-generated radio and a Shazam-esque tool, as detailed by YouTube in a blog post.

The radio feature utilizes AI to create custom radio stations from text prompts. As an example, you could ask for "summertime jams" or "catchy pop choruses." Currently, the feature is rolling out to select Premium users in the US. 

YouTube usually tests new features on Premium users, but it's not clear when the AI radio feature will release to the rest of us. 

YouTube Music's version of Shazam enables you to search for music by sound. Unlike the radio feature, the Shazam-esque tool is officially rolling out to iOS and Android users. We tried testing it but it hasn't reached our account yet. 

The tool lets you find the name of a song by singing or letting the app listen to a song that is playing. Interestingly, you can also hum a song into the app. This would have been helpful when I tried to remember the name of Joel Corry's "Head & Heart" song for my son. All I had was this: Bum bum bum da bum bum, bum bum bum da bum. 

Don't ask how long it took before I actually found the song.

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Scott Younker
Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. He also handles all the Connections coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game since it released.