YouTube․com Adds Voice Commands to Search, Navigate, and Play

YouTube.com is now gaining voice search for fast lookup and hands-free navigation commands. On initial use, youtube.com has to be granted the microphone permission. Afterwards, tapping overlays a box at the top of the screen that says “Listening…” and invites users to speak their query. If you’re currently playing a video, it will automatically be paused.

YouTube is smart enough to recognize natural language commands. For example, “show me videos of cats” will just search “videos of cats.” It’s a great addition for accessibility and as a hands-free experience.