YouTube has announced a new AI-powered support feature to help users recover hacked accounts . The chatbot, described as a “troubleshooting tool” on Google’s support page, is accessible through YouTube’s Help Center.
The virtual assistant will guide hacked content creators through a series of questions to help them secure their Google logins and restore any unauthorized changes to their YouTube channels.
Currently, the tool is only available in English, and access to some troubleshooting features is limited to a select group of “certain profiles.” There’s no set benchmark, but Google has stated that it plans to make the feature available to all YouTube creators in the future.
While the chatbot appears to function in a standard way, without the quirks typical of generative AI, it doesn’t address one of creators’ biggest complaints: the difficulty of contacting YouTube directly when issues arise . Access to a human YouTube representative is generally limited to only the most prominent creators in the partner program, leaving smaller accounts to resolve their issues through help pages or seemingly automated responses from the standard support.
The introduction of an AI chatbot may disappoint creators who were hoping for improved direct communication with the platform, especially considering that issues like account hacking have affected even huge channels like Linus Tech Tips and have taken a long time to resolve even for smaller partner accounts.
Speaking of YouTube and its growth in usage, did you know that it has become the first platform to surpass 10% of the total TV audience in the US? According to a recent Nielsen report, YouTube has captured 10.4% of total TV viewership as of July 2024, marking a significant moment in the evolution of media consumption.
