YouTube is planning to make live streams more interactive with a new feature that should help connect streamers and viewers better than before. The video-sharing platform is introducing Live Q&A which will use the same system as the Live Chat, but it’s structured with different rules to make it easier to ask questions.
The new Q&A feature can be used through the Live Control room during a live stream. The update will also bring Live Polls to the table right next to the Live Q&A feature. This will also work with the existing Live Chat system, which means that banned words will be filtered out automatically and you can also report certain questions.
Moderators on a live stream will have no control over Live Q&A or Polls unless they have Manager or Editor channel rights. Moderators will be able to access the Questions List and also select questions for answering.
Questions will be sorted into chronological order automatically and older questions will start disappearing once the count goes over 200. The feature will only allow one question per minute to keep it from becoming chaotic.
It is worth mentioning that Live Q&A and Polls will not work with smartphones and details from a Q&A session will not be stored in YouTube Analytics.
This is how the feature will look in action.
Recently, YouTube has made some notable changes to the platform, such as a Darker Mode, Ambient Mode, and an overhaul to YouTube Music as well. The app also introduced official handles for every user, just like Twitter and other platforms, in an attempt to curb fake messages and spam on the platform. This gives everyone an official username that is unique to them, making it easy to distinguish between the real YouTuber and a possible fake account.
