YouTube is taking notes from its rivals.
The popular video-sharing platform recently announced it has added a few new creation tools for YouTube content creators to use and level up their Shorts videos like they would in Instagram and TikTok.
YouTube first released shorts in 2020, when TikTok suddenly became one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide.
New YouTube Shorts Tools
YouTube Mentioned in its announcement it is releasing six new creation tools to help YouTubers enhance their Shorts videos on the platform. According to Android Authority, these new tools are likely inspired by their counterparts from YouTube's rivals, including Instagram and TikTok.
The first and most prominent of these tools is "Collab," which lets YouTubers record a Short in a side-by-side format with other YouTube or Shorts videos. YouTubers only need to tap on "remix" and then "collab" to remix an eligible Short or YouTube video with a side-by-side layout.
Needless to say, this tool is similar to the one Instagram and TikTok have been offering for a while. Interestingly enough, this new tool follows "Green Screen," a tool YouTube previously released in the past that lets YouTubers use a 1-5 second segment from a YouTube video or Short in their own Short.
YouTube also added dozens of new Shorts effects and stickers for YouTubers to spice their Shorts up. Among these stickers is a new Q&A sticker that YouTubers can use to ask their audience questions and get responses in their Shorts' comments.
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Next is a mobile-first vertical live experience YouTube is testing for live YouTubers to get discovered right in YouTube's Shorts feed. This new tool, which remains unreleased, allows viewers to see previews of vertical live videos mixed into the Shorts feed.
Should a user tap on a Short, they'll be placed in a scrollable feed of other live videos.
Additionally, YouTube added a tool that lets YouTubers use the same audio and effect from the Short they're remixing automatically. Much like Collab, YouTubers must tap the Remix button on the Short they want to remix and select "use sound." YouTube will surface the same audio time stamp from the Short you just watched and the same effect as a creation suggestion.
Finally, the last two features allow YouTubers to save the Shorts they wish to remix into a playlist and allow them to adjust the layout, zoom, and crop of one of their videos and turn them into a Short.
New YouTube Shorts Tools Availability
YouTube said that most of the new tools it introduced are available for content creators to use starting on Aug. 1. However, its mobile-first live experience and Collab are unavailable in certain ways.
Collabs are now available to all YouTubers on iOS devices, but those using Android ones need to wait longer for YouTube to roll the tool out for the platform.
As previously mentioned, YouTube's mobile-first vertical live experience is still unavailable but will no longer be in a matter of months. YouTube plans to release the experience gradually; when released, live creators will have the chance to get discovered in more places.
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