YouTube rolls out Twitch-like emotes

SAN FRANCISCO: Video-sharing platform YouTube has started rolling out its own Twitch-like emotes, named 'YouTube Emotes'.

YouTube Emotes is a new way for users to express themselves with fun images across streams and comments, the platform said in a blogpost on Tuesday.

Emotes are amusing collections of still images that users can use to create a sense of community.

To use YouTube Emotes, click on the emoji picker in live chat or comments and the available emotes and emojis will be displayed.

The new emotes also have specific names that users can type to autocomplete in live chat. To give it a try, type ":cat-orange-whistling:" in a live chat.

"We're starting with emotes created for Gaming but are working on bringing even more themes of emotes in the future, so stay tuned for emotes for even more communities!" the platform said.

Last month, YouTube launched the 'Live Q&A' feature which allows users to create and manage Q&A sessions in the live chat during their streams and premieres by using 'Live Control Room'.