YouTube has added extra creator tools to its short-form video product, Shorts as it continues to fight back against TikTok.
The changes include “Collab” — similar to TikTok’s Duet feature that lets users put their own video side-by-side with one from another user. A new Q&A sticker will let users ask questions to viewers, with viewers able to respond in kind.
Google also said that it is testing a mobile-first vertical live experience so creators can broadcast live to viewers. Viewers in the test will see previews of vertical live videos mixed into the Shorts feed. As someone taps into the experience, they’ll be placed in a scrollable feed of other live videos. Features such as Super Chat, Super Stickers and channel memberships will all be available to help creators monetise.
Plus, it is making ease-of-use changes to its Remix tools, allowing users to save Shorts in playlists and making it easier to swap horizontal videos on YouTube into vertical Short clips.
YouTube Shorts is a growing platform in the increasingly popular short-form video space, though TikTok remains the app to beat. These new tools bring the two services closer together in terms of their feature sets and, with a potential TikTok ban on the horizon in Australia, perhaps this might be the end for the controversial platform?
