Last year in June, YouTube announced a new thumbnail testing
and comparing option for creators to help them in their content creation
process and ensure better performance. The option has since been in testing with
about 50K different channels on YouTube in various regions.
Despite YouTube announcing that the Thumbnail A/B testing would roll out on a wider scale in 2024, there is no such news yet. However, vlogger Rene Ritchie, who also happens to be YouTube’s Creator Liaison, gave us a little update saying that the option will be available to all creators this year as soon as YouTube deems it suitable for a wider launch.
“No timeline yet, because it’s hard to predict how fast or
slow tests of this size will go, but as soon as it’s ready to launch, YouTube
will absolutely let everyone know,” says Ritchie.
With the help of Thumbnail A/B thumbnail testing, creators can select and upload three different thumbnails that they like for each video, after which YouTube’s system runs them in a comparative test for a maximum of two weeks. This test reveals which thumbnail performed the best in terms of driving views / engagement, hence allowing creators to make an efficient decision.
