Google testing YouTube Shorts in Discover: Report

Google is testing YouTube Shorts and other short-from video content in the Discover section, according to reports.

The tech giant in August began surfacing ‘Short Videos’ within its Discover feed alongside regular videos and web stories. Discover feed is a newsfeed that lets users discover articles on a range of topics available on the web.

On mobile, the feature can be accessed from the menu located at the bottom of the Google app on Android and iOS.

The Short Videos feature on Discover displays a carousel of aggregated short videos within search results on the app. The videos so far were aggregated from platforms such as Google’s own short-form video platform Google Tangi, Trell and YouTube.

Also read: YouTube is testing a new feature that allows users to create short clips of content

Ahead of the beta coming to the United States next month, the tech giant seems to be adding its India-first short videos platform YouTube Shorts to the mix.

YouTube began beta testing YouTube Shorts in India last year. The TikTok rival ‘Shorts' lets creators create short-form videos directly on the platform. The videos can be up to 15 seconds long and created using a “Shorts camera.”

The carousel within Short Videos displays 10 videos. Users can now see a YouTube play logo in the Cards feature. The logo appears in the top-left corner, while the video title and “YouTube” are displayed below. When a user taps on the card, it opens the YouTube app and a new fullscreen player where users can like/dislike, see comments and share. The “More” option displays further details such as Description, Report, or Send feedback, 9to5Google reported.

YouTube Shorts are receiving 3.5 billion daily views, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki had said in January while detailing the platform’s priorities for 2021 n a blog post.

Also read: YouTube will not open its physical Spaces locations after the pandemic

“We’re now beta testing YouTube Shorts in India and we’re excited to help the next generation of mobile creators tell their stories by lowering the barriers to entry. So far, videos in our new Shorts player - which helps people around the world watch short videos on YouTube - are receiving an impressive 3.5 billion daily views,” wrote the YouTube CEO.

The addition of Shorts to Discover is in line with the company’s plans. The tech giant is looking to expand Shorts to more markets in 2021, Wojcicki had said.