YouTube Trials Photo Carousels Inside Shorts for Creators

Earlier this week, YouTube published an update to their features blog as:

We’re experimenting with showing image posts in the Shorts feed to help creators reach their audience with posts in a new place. Creators can include up to 10 images in their posts, making them a great way to tell a story.

According to YouTube, the image carousel format is designed to help creators reach their audience with posts in a new placement, underscoring the company’s broader push to diversify how content is distributed across its most heavily used surfaces.

The introduction of still image carousels builds on earlier efforts to blend different types of creator posts into the Shorts ecosystem. In mid 2025, YouTube began displaying standard posts such as polls, text updates, and images within the Shorts feed to expand reach and engagement opportunities for creators.

YouTube has also been adding more social media-like features, like channel communities, which enable creators to share text updates with their channel visitors/followers.

Industry observers note that swipe-able image formats have already proven popular on other social platforms, where carousel posts often generate strong engagement by encouraging users to scroll through multiple frames. YouTube’s move suggests growing recognition that non video content continues to play an important role in discovery and storytelling, especially as creators look for multiple ways to increase watch time and audience interaction.

By integrating posts more deeply into the Shorts feed, the platform is going after competition such as Instagram, where a more hybrid content experience entertains millions. Apps like Instagram have also proven that short form video along with static image carousel formats to keep users engaged for longer periods.

YouTube has announced that all image posts made using the “Create” button will be eligible to appear in the Shorts feed during this testing phase.

They also mentioned that audio features are on the way:

We understand that audio is a vital tool for expressing yourself and sharing your story, so we’ll keep everyone in the loop as we test music with this feature.

For now, though, it’s just image carousels that you can scroll through in the Shorts feed.

YouTube has not shared a timeline for a wider rollout, but the experiment highlights how major platforms continue to evolve their feeds in response to competitive pressure and changing creator needs.