YouTube used its annual Made On event to unveil a batch of creator and viewer-facing features for 2026, headlined by an expanded custom feed tool and a new way for creators to group Shorts into ongoing series.
What YouTube Announced
The custom feed expansion gives viewers more control over what surfaces on their homepage, letting them build feeds around specific topics or creators rather than relying entirely on the recommendation algorithm. On the creator side, the ability to group Shorts into series gives short-form content the same kind of episodic structure long-form YouTube content has always had, making it easier for viewers to find and follow a running storyline instead of stumbling on isolated clips.
What It Means for Brands and Creators
Series-grouped Shorts change how brands should think about short-form content planning. A one-off Short competes for a single moment of attention, while a Shorts series builds a reason for a viewer to come back, a meaningfully different content strategy for teams running social media programs. Custom feeds, meanwhile, put more power in viewers’ hands to opt into a brand’s content deliberately, which raises the value of consistent, recognizable branding across every video thumbnail and title.
Both changes point toward a shift already visible on other platforms: individual posts are becoming less important than the pattern of content a channel builds over time, whether that is a competing platform giving profiles more personality or YouTube giving Shorts a narrative arc.
FAQ: YouTube Made On 2026
What is YouTube’s custom feed feature?
It is an expanded homepage tool that lets viewers build a feed centered on specific topics or creators they choose, rather than depending entirely on YouTube’s default recommendation algorithm.
What does grouping Shorts into series mean for creators?
Creators can now organize their Shorts into ongoing series, giving short-form content an episodic structure that helps viewers follow a continuing storyline instead of finding disconnected individual clips.
Why does this matter for brand content strategy?
Series-based Shorts and viewer-curated feeds both reward brands that build consistent, recognizable content over time rather than relying on single viral posts.
Source: Social Media Today