YouTube's new sleep timer feature, which was being developed in June, is now live as an experiment and is joined by two other new features aimed at enhancing the user experience.
In a recent blog post, YouTube introduced three new experimental features for YouTube Premium subscribers, including the long-awaited sleep timer, available now for a limited time. They are as follows:
Sleep Timer
The Sleep Timer feature lets users set a timer to automatically pause the video playing after a designated period. Available on both mobile and desktop, users can find Sleep Timer within the settings menu.
Dream Screen
The Dream Screen feature is designed for creators. As described by YouTube, this mobile app feature allows users to generate green screen backgrounds using AI. To use it, tap the + icon to open the Shorts camera, select the green screen option, and then click the sparkle button. Currently, this feature only supports English for background creation, as other languages are not yet available.
Answer Bot
Answer Bot is the third and final feature, available exclusively on mobile, which allows users to get answers to questions about a video without disrupting playback. It also provides recommendations. This feature won't be available for every video, but for those where it's supported, users will see an 'Ask' field below the video and can choose from preset prompts or enter their own.
These features are temporary. Sleep Timer will be accessible until September 2, Dream Screen will be available until August 20, and the answer bot will be offered until August 21.