More than 2 billion logged-in users around the world are watching YouTube Shorts each month. To help creators keep them engaged, YouTube is releasing six new tools to improve creativity. Assists for remixing, adding stickers and effects, going live and more are coming to the platform, which has also begun testing a mobile-first live experience designed to help live creators get noticed in the main Shorts feed. One unusual new feature, Collab, lets creators display a Short in a side-by-side frame with other YouTube or Shorts videos. Collab lets users select from a variety of split-screen layout options. It will debut on iOS with Android to follow. 

“The feature joins other remixing tools like Green Screen, which uses a YouTube video or a Short as the background of a Short, and Cut, which lets a creator snip out a one- to five-second clip from a YouTube video or Short to remix into their own,” TechCrunch reports.

YouTube is introducing a Q&A sticker that lets creators ask questions of their audience, with responses that show up in the comments section. Creators are also now able to reply to comments with a Short video that continues the conversation, a feature TechCrunch says is similar to one offered by TikTok.

Select live creators are now participating in a test to insert live videos into “a new version of the Shorts feed, again similar to TikTok,” per TechCrunch, which says “viewers in the test group will see previews of the live videos mixed in with other Shorts as they scroll.” Those who tap to watch a live video will be placed into a feed featuring only live videos, something TikTok already does.

YouTube recently lowered eligibility requirements for those wishing to join its YouTube Partner Program and says the live feed could unlock more monetization opportunities for live creators.

YouTube is also offering a new inspiration tool. Available through the Remix button on the Shorts panel, it automatically bundles suggested audio and effects from Shorts someone is sourcing for remix inspiration, the company explains in a blog post.

In other news, YouTube parent Google is experimenting with generative AI that creates YouTube video summaries, The Verge reports, explaining that “these summaries will only appear next to a limited number of English-language videos, and will only be viewable by a limited number of users,” appearing on YouTube’s watch and search pages where they will give a short overview “without replacing its existing description written by a human.”