As part of a larger push to boost its global subscriptions, Google’s YouTube is pilot-testing a discounted two-person Premium plan with select users in France, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan. The tier’s pilot program, which allows users to share their YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium membership with another household member (13 years or older) without committing to a family plan, comes as the platform looks to diversity beyond its advertising business. YouTube is testing whether the plan, similar to the Duo offering from music streamer Spotify, would be appealing to couples or roommates looking to minimize costs while maintaining separate accounts. Continue reading YouTube Tests Two-Person Premium Tier to Help Grow Subs

YouTube is testing a new AI Overviews feature for search and discovery powered by Gemini. A “small number” of YouTube Premium subscribers in the U.S. will notice a video results carousel popping up for some English-language search queries. The feature taps AI to highlight clips from videos deemed most helpful for a particular search. Initially, the feature will appear in response to practical inquiries, aiming for a more helpful response to things like product inquiries and requests for information about a place or activity. The idea is to provide quick highlights from several videos. Continue reading YouTube Testing Gemini-Powered AI Overviews for Searches

Alphabet revenue was $90.2 billion in Q1, a 12 percent increase year-over-year that reflects “robust momentum” across Google Search and YouTube ads and Google Cloud, each delivering double-digit growth rates. Google Cloud was up 28 percent to $12.3 billion in divisions including AI infrastructure and generative AI solutions. Net profit surged 46 percent to $34.5 billion while operating income grew 20 percent to $30.6 billion. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the quarter was “super exciting” due to breakthroughs in performance by Gemini 2.5, calling it “our most intelligent AI” and a strong foundation “for future innovation.” Continue reading Alphabet Profit Is Up 46 Percent, Driven by AI and Advertising

Since launching in 2005, YouTube has hosted more than 20 billion videos including music, shorts and podcasts. Now, to celebrate its 20th birthday, the original video streamer is celebrating by sharing stats, unveiling new features and hiding Easter eggs. In the coming weeks, YouTube TV members will be able to “experiment with building their own multiview” with non-sports content and more creators will be able to voice-reply to comments on their videos, something started as a small test last year. Then, this summer, YouTube’s TV app will unveil a makeover. Continue reading YouTube Adds Features to Celebrate 20 Years, 20 Billion Vids

Among the many tech advancements unveiled at Google Cloud Next include a major generative media upgrade to Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s managed AI development platform. The new Vertex AI Media Studio lets enterprise users generate complete videos from scratch using text prompts. Lyria, Google’s text-to-music model is now available on Vertex in private preview. Both are subject to an “allowlist.” Chirp 3 now creates custom voices with just 10 seconds of audio input, while Imagen 3 has gained improved abilities for reconstructing missing or damaged portions of an image. Continue reading Vertex AI Movie Studio Can Create Videos from Start to Score

YouTube is rolling out a new tool called Music Assistant to its Creator Music marketplace. Music Assistant uses generative AI to automatically add royalty-free instrumental background music to long-form videos. Accessed via a dedicated tab in Creator Music, Music Assistant provides more control over things like the style, mood and instruments of the desired music, which is requested via text prompts. Creator Music is available in the U.S. to creators enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program. YouTube is also experimenting with a Shorts feature that automatically synchronizes audio for short-form video creators. Continue reading YouTube Brings Generative Music Assistant to Video Creation

Google has turned its Firebase backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform into a full-stack AI workspace called Firebase Studio that builds custom apps in a browser-based environment. Available to anyone with a Google account during its preview phase, Google says Firebase Studio will be useful to beginners and pros alike, with Gemini-powered AI agents that can be used to automate the process of building, launching and monitoring mobile and web apps and related infrastructure. Firebase Studio “includes everything developers need to create and publish production-quality AI apps quickly, all in one place,” the company announced at Google Cloud Next 2025. Continue reading Google Firebase Now Full-Stack App Developer in a Browser

A bipartisan Congressional group has reintroduced the NO FAKES Act, a bicameral bill that aims to protect creative rights by safeguarding artist voices and likenesses from unauthorized use by AI and other digital replication. The announcement culminated the Recording Academy’s Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day with a Wednesday press conference led by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) and Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania) and Maria Salazar (R-Florida). Simultaneously, the TAKE IT DOWN Act — which aims to tackle unauthorized images of people — moved with Senate support to near approval in the House. Continue reading Proposed Federal Bills Aim to Curb Unauthorized Replication

Vimeo is launching Vimeo Streaming, a turnkey platform that allows businesses, creators, and just about anyone to create and monetize their own branded streaming service. The announcement was timed to the 2025 NAB Show. Vimeo suggests the new offering — described as “a technological leap forward for content and media businesses” — is the next generation of its existing over-the-top product that is already helping creators earn $429 million per month. The approach is similar to YouTube with more design flexibility and brand control, but living on the Web, outside the cozy confines of social media with its built-in audiences. Continue reading Vimeo Streaming Helps Creators Build Subscription Platforms

Google’s YouTube is rolling out new tools to make YouTube Shorts even more competitive with social-video platform TikTok. The new publishing suite includes an improved video editor, a tool for generating AI stickers, enhanced templates, and a feature that can synchronize content to a musical beat. YouTube says the upgraded editing feature will provide users with the ability to make more precise adjustments, fine-tuning the timing of each clip. Users can “move or remove clips to create a rough version, add music or timed text, and preview their Short to make sure it tells the story the way they want it to,” according to YouTube. Continue reading YouTube Shorts Updates Video Tools to Compete with TikTok

Ad measurement firm iSpot has launched Outcomes at Scale with Paramount as its first customer. Designed to speed performance tracking across TV and streaming by helping brands see campaign results almost instantly, allowing them to optimize on the fly, iSpot says Outcomes at Scale makes “attribution” (consumer response to commercials) available rapidly, while making low-funnel insights — metrics occurring closer to the conversion point — more accessible. The company’s new offering aims to provide advertisers with access to conversion-rate tracking, allowing them to see how audience segments are responding to campaigns throughout the ads and dayparts. Continue reading Paramount Adopts iSpot’s New Ad Tech: Outcomes at Scale

TikTok has rolled out a Security Checkup tool designed to help users secure their accounts. Security settings can now be reviewed and updated from a single screen, similar to security dashboards used by Google and Instagram. A step-by-step guide to the new feature encourages users to make their accounts safer by enabling more security features. The social media platform owned by China-based ByteDance is in the final days of a 75-day extension allowing it to continue U.S. operations after Congress deemed it a national security threat and enacted legislation requiring it to be sold or banned by January 15. Continue reading TikTok Adds Security Checkup to Help Users Secure Accounts

Google has begun rolling out an updated Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental reasoning model that is faster and supports new features like file upload. The model, which is trained to break down prompts into a series of steps for more indepth responses, will now power Google Deep Research, replacing Gemini 1.5 Pro, and broadening its access so “anyone will be able to try it across the globe in 45-plus languages,” according to Google. Previously Deep Research was only available to subscribers paying $20-per-month for Google One AI Premium. Deep Research is a sort of AI assistant that searches the web, synthesizing information. Continue reading Google Updates Gemini App, Makes It Available to All for Free

Amazon is experimenting with AI dubbing so Prime Video customers globally can experience content from other territories, gaining access more quickly and efficiently to licensed films and TV series. The company is using a hybrid “AI-aided” system in which localization professionals oversee the AI output to ensure quality control. Currently limited to a dozen movies and series that will be AI-dubbed in English and Latin American Spanish, the pilot will expand if the results prove popular with audiences. In December, Netflix experienced backlash against AI-assisted dubbing, with viewers complaining generative mouth adjustments looked unnatural. Continue reading Amazon Prime Video Tests AI Dubbing for Movies and Series

John Gaeta, the Bay Area digital disruptor who won an Oscar as VFX supervisor for “The Matrix,” has launched Escape (escape.ai), a neo cinema hub where global filmmakers, artists and game creators can showcase and monetize original work. Offering a “curated viewing experience” in story, art and experiential content, Escape styles itself as an “experimental” space. “If you like edgy-fun shows like ‘Love Death + Robots’ or the type of stories spun from game worlds, escape.ai is your place,” Gaeta said, describing it as a hybrid platform where premium streaming meets the creator economy. Continue reading Escape.ai, Streaming Hub for Digital Content, Debuts in Beta