🚨 Huge update: YouTube just announced video AB testing, thumbnail generation & more. I’m here in the YouTube offices in New York… and they’ve just made their biggest update in years. Here’s the 3 changes I am most excited about + my take as a strategist running some of the biggest channels on youtube: 1. Video AB testing YouTube is going to allow you to upload three different versions of a video now (starting with shorts and then rolling out to more) and test them over a period to see which gets the best watch time. My take: I am so excited by this and it feels like something we’ve all wanted for years. How often are you stuck between two different intros, or two different ways of ending a video? Now having the ability to get real data back is insane. I am going to heavily use this with intros. 2. Dynamic thumbnail testing for different audiences YouTube will now actually dynamically test different thumbnails with different audience segments. Allowing you to have different packaging for your returning viewers vs casual/new. My take: This is very interesting. Current AB testing for thumbnails essentially helps you find the best thumbnail for the biggest majority of your viewers… but that isn’t the best thumbnail for every segment. A core viewer might click on something very different to a brand new viewer. I think this will allow creators to print more views and test new styles that previously might have never won in the test. 3. Thumbnail generation in YouTube studio Directly in your studio you will have an ‘ask studio packaging assistant’ that can analyze your video and past performance and generate thumbnails (and titles) for your video. My take: This one’s been coming. The interesting thing for me is that when presenting this, youtube said something very interesting: they will match your style. This is the hardest step when using most Ai thumbnail generators, so if they can pull this off… could change the game. Really excited to see how these new features work. Youtube shared that they will be tested and rolled out in the coming months.