One area creators are increasingly interested in is podcasting. In fact, YouTube is now the second most popular destination for listening to podcasts according to Edison. This year we're making it even easier for creators and artists to showcase their podcasts on YouTube. New features in YouTube Studio make it easier to publish podcasts, and we’ll also start bringing both audio and video-first podcasts to the millions of people who use YouTube Music in the United States, with more regions to come. And later this year, RSS integration will offer podcasters another way to upload their shows to YouTube and give our users more listening options.
As we think through our product roadmap, we’re not just planning for the next few years. This is a critical moment in the creation of digital video, and we’re imagining what the future of creation will look like. Creators want more than just a place to hit upload. They need sophisticated tools to grow their ambitions across Shorts, live, podcasts, and more. This year, we’ll roll out a creation tool that lets creators record a Short in a side-by-side layout with both Shorts and YouTube videos so they can easily add their own take on a trend or join in with reactions.
And the power of AI is just beginning to emerge in ways that will reinvent video and make the seemingly impossible possible. Creators will be able to expand their storytelling and raise their production value, from virtually swapping outfits to creating a fantastical film setting through AI’s generative capabilities. We’re taking the time to develop these features with thoughtful guardrails. Stay tuned in the coming months as we roll out tools for creators as well as the protections to embrace this technology responsibly.