• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 11, 2023

YouTube plans to test a new feature that could help brands and creators further engage with viewers. The feature, hyperlinked keywords, in comments will allow viewers to explore topics and recommendations.

Phrases or single words in comments can be hyperlinked. Clicking on the link initiates a new YouTube search with that term, navigating users to the search results page, but the original video will continue to play. Linked words are determined by YouTube based on what users are likely to want to further explore.

YouTube released a video on its Creator Insider channel to announce the pilot. The company said the links cannot be added or modified by commenters, though creators can remove links on their video comments if they want. Viewers will have an option to opt out of the experiment if they prefer their comments not to be hyperlinked. The pilot begins rolling out during the next few weeks.

A metric also is being added in YouTube analytics that will show creators how many reminders were set by viewers for an upcoming livestream or premiere. Viewers on YouTube can set reminders for upcoming livestreams or premieres by clicking the notify me button to get email and push notifications.