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How to Create YouTube Custom Feeds for Mood and Routine

Learn how to create YouTube Custom Feeds for moods and routines on web, mobile, and TV, with prompt examples and U.S. rollout notes.

October 6, 2026 Yum News

YouTube Home has one main recommendation stream. A cooking search can sit next to a work tutorial, then a late-night clip, and the next visit still mixes them together. Custom Feeds, announced at Made on YouTube 2026, give U.S. viewers a way to keep those interests in separate homepage tabs.

Johanna Voolich, VP of Product Management for Viewer Products, described Custom Feeds as dedicated tabs for moods, routines, or newer interests, reachable from the Homepage. YouTube says the feature is coming soon on web, mobile, and TVs for users in the United States. Your standard Home feed stays in place.

What Custom Feeds change on the homepage

A Custom Feed is a saved recommendation tab built from a written prompt. YouTube uses large language models to turn that request into a page of videos, then keeps the tab updated with newer suggestions. Neal Mohan, YouTube CEO, used examples such as witty podcasts for a 30-minute commute, evening wind-down with long documentaries, and help discovering new DIY creators.

This is different from a normal search. Search returns a result list for one query. A Custom Feed stays on Home beside topic chips such as Music and Podcasts, and you can save more than one. Ars Technica reported that you refine the description and rate video suggestions to tune the feed. YouTube has not published a hard limit on how many feeds an account can save.

The main Home tab is not replaced. Wired noted that the standard homepage remains available through the All chip, so an experiment on one feed does not have to rewrite every recommendation you already get.

Person watching a video on a laptop in a bright room

How to create a Custom Feed

Availability is still a rollout, not a switch that is on for every account. YouTube’s viewer post says Custom Feeds will be available for users in the U.S. on web, mobile, and TVs soon. If the control is missing, update the YouTube app, confirm the account region, and check again later. Signed-out browsing is not the setup path described in the announcement.

When the control is on your account, use this sequence:

Open YouTube on the web, the mobile app, or a TV app where the feature has reached your account.
On Home, look under the search bar for a chip labeled Your custom feeds, next to topic tabs such as Music or Podcasts.
Open that chip and type a plain-language request for the feed you want. Wired’s hands-on used a prompt in the style of a rainy Shanghai vibe with café jazz, street food, and vlogs.
Review the videos YouTube returns. Accept suggested refinements if they match the job, such as uploaded this month or without talking or commentary.
Rate suggestions you want more or less of, then save the feed so it remains a homepage tab.
Repeat for a second routine. Keep the commute feed separate from the evening feed so one session does not train the other.
Return to All any time you want the ordinary Home recommendations.

On TV, the same idea applies once the chip is present: open Home, select the custom-feeds control, and enter or speak the prompt if voice input is offered on that device. YouTube has said the TV apps are part of the U.S. rollout, not a later-only platform.

Prompt patterns that stay useful

Official examples are specific about length, mood, and format. Copy that shape instead of a one-word topic.

Commute: “Witty podcasts for my daily 30-minute commute, uploaded this month.”
Evening: “Evening wind down with long documentaries, no jump-scare clips.”
Learning: “Help me discover new DIY creators, under 15 minutes, clear step-by-step demos.”
Focus block: “Cafe jazz and quiet city vlogs, without talking or commentary.”

Add one constraint at a time. A prompt that mixes length, language, upload date, and three unrelated hobbies is harder to correct. If the first page is close, rate a few videos and add a single phrase such as “uploaded this month” rather than rewriting the whole request.

Custom Feeds also sit next to other Made on YouTube viewer tools. Ask YouTube is expanding into product questions, comparison tables, and follow-ups on the watch page, including voice on TV. If you are comparing phones or skincare after a review binge, the shopping flow is covered in our guide to Ask YouTube product reviews. Use a Custom Feed to gather review channels, then Ask YouTube when you need attributes side by side.

Remote and screen in a dark living room ready for a TV session

Tips before you rely on a saved feed

Treat the first save as a draft. YouTube said feeds update with fresh recommendations, so a tab can drift if you never rate new rows. Open a commute feed once a week and mark a few misses.

Keep sensitive topics on search, not on a persistent Home tab, if you share a TV profile. YouTube has not said that Custom Feeds are hidden from other people on the same signed-in profile.

Do not expect the feature outside the stated rollout. The viewer announcement limits the first wave to U.S. users on web, mobile, and TVs. A VPN is not a setup step YouTube documents, and it can break recommendations rather than unlock a chip.

Pair feeds with ordinary controls you already have. Subscriptions, Not interested, and the All tab still matter. A Custom Feed is an extra lane, not a replacement for blocking a channel you do not want.

Conclusion

Custom Feeds turn a mood or routine into a homepage tab that YouTube refreshes, while the regular Home feed stays available. U.S. accounts on web, mobile, and TV should see a Your custom feeds chip as the fall rollout reaches them. Start with one constrained prompt, save it, and rate a handful of videos before you build a second tab.