YouTube is giving users more control over what appears on the Home feed. The platform has expanded its custom feeds experiment, allowing users to create several personalized feeds around specific interests. Each feed starts with a simple prompt.
The idea is simple. Instead of relying only on YouTube’s recommendation system, users can tell the platform what they want to see. They can then switch between different feeds from the top of the Home page.
YouTube Users Can Now Create Multiple Custom Feeds
YouTube is expanding a feature that gives viewers more direct control over recommendations. Users with access can create several custom feeds based on their own prompts. The platform supports up to eight active feeds at one time. Those feeds appear across the top of the Home page, making it easier to move between different interests.
This could work well for viewers with very different habits. Someone might create one feed for gaming, another for travel and another for technology. YouTube can then build recommendations around each prompt instead of mixing everything into one stream.
The Feature Started as a Smaller Test
YouTube first began testing custom feeds in November 2025. At that stage, users could enter a simple prompt and generate one personalized content feed. The company later expanded access to more users in May 2026.
The latest update takes the idea further by allowing multiple feeds. That suggests YouTube sees value in direct user input. Recommendation systems usually learn from watch history, likes, searches and other behavior. Custom feeds add another signal because users can simply say what they want.
Users Can Edit Their Prompts at Any Time
The feeds are not fixed once they are created. Users can edit the prompt at the top of each feed. That lets them change the type of videos YouTube recommends without starting again.
A broad prompt can also become more specific. Someone could change “fitness” to “beginner marathon training.” Another user could narrow “technology” to “AI tools for creators.” That makes the feature feel closer to using an AI assistant.
YouTube Is Borrowing From Conversational AI
The feature reflects the way people now interact with AI tools. Users have become comfortable typing short prompts and expecting personalized results. YouTube is bringing that same behavior into video discovery.
A viewer can describe an interest, and the platform can build a feed around it. That feels more active than traditional recommendations. YouTube is still using its existing algorithm, but direct prompts now add another layer of control.
Custom Feeds Could Replace Topic Chips
YouTube is also changing part of the Home feed interface. Custom feeds may replace the usual topic chips shown at the top of the mobile Home page for users in the experiment.
Topic chips already help users narrow recommendations, but they are based on categories selected by YouTube. Custom feeds are more flexible because users define the subject themselves. That gives viewers more say over how their recommendation categories are created.
YouTube Is Testing a Different Recommendation Model
Most social platforms rely heavily on algorithms to predict what users want. YouTube is not moving away from that model, but it is adding something more direct.
Custom feeds combine what YouTube already knows about a viewer with what that viewer specifically requests. That could reduce irrelevant recommendations. It could also help users explore interests that their watch history has not yet picked up.
Eight Active Feeds Should Be Enough for Most Users
YouTube currently allows up to eight active custom feeds. Inactive prompts will also expire after several weeks, according to the company.
That limit keeps the feature from becoming too cluttered. Eight feeds give users enough room to separate major interests without creating another complicated menu. The expiration rule should also remove old topics that users no longer care about.
The Update Could Help Creators Reach More Specific Audiences
Custom feeds may also create another discovery path for creators. A viewer who builds a very specific feed could find videos that might not appear in the standard Home experience.
That could help smaller channels with focused content. A creator may not need to appeal to everyone. They may only need to match what a certain group is actively asking YouTube to show.
YouTube Is Rolling the Experiment Out in the US
The updated custom feeds experiment is currently rolling out to signed-in viewers in the United States. It is available on both mobile and desktop for users included in the test.
YouTube has not announced a full global release yet. The company will likely watch how people use the feature before deciding what comes next. For now, the test offers a glimpse at a more customizable Home feed.
YouTube Wants Users to Tell the Algorithm What They Want
Recommendation systems have spent years trying to predict user interests from behavior. YouTube is now giving users a chance to be more direct.
That changes the relationship between viewers and the feed. Users can create separate spaces for different interests and adjust those interests whenever they want.
The Home feed becomes less like one endless stream. It starts to look more like a collection of personalized channels built around what each user actually asks for.
Sources
- Social Media Today — YouTube Enables Users to Create Multiple Custom Feeds
Read the original report - YouTube Help
Visit YouTube Help