Instagram Features: its answer to YouTube, and what it means for small businesses

What is Instagram Features?

Features are horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. Instagram is still testing length limits, so that cap may move.3 Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, and Tessa Lyons, VP of product, announced it in a six-minute video aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators.1

Features show in the main feed, Explore and Instagram for TV. Up to 8 Reels can point to one Feature, and Series gives episodic Reels a home on your profile.

How it works

Here's what it looks like when someone's scrolling Instagram.

Reels, Features and Series

Here's how the three compare.

ReelsShort video	FeaturesLong video, new	SeriesEpisodes
Length
Up to 20 minutes	Up to 90 minutes, limits still being tested	Each episode is a Reel
Shape
Vertical	Horizontal, widescreen	Vertical
Where it shows
Feed, Explore and the Reels tab	Feed, Explore and Instagram for TV	Its own home on your profile
Who has it
Everyone	Test creators in Brazil and the US	Tested in the US, India and Mexico since spring 2026
In the UK
Yes	Not yet	Not yet, more countries through end of 2026

Checked 28 Oct 2026.

Why long video matters for search and AI answers

Long video is what AI answers cite. YouTube is the most-cited site in Google AI Overviews, with 22.9% of citations.10

• Long beats short. About 94 to 97% of those video citations go to long videos. Shorts get under 3%.12 Rank Prompt puts it at 1.8%.11
• Nine minutes is typical. The median cited video is 9 minutes.11
• It's mostly Google. ChatGPT rarely cites video.

Since 10 July 2025, public posts, Reels and videos from professional Instagram accounts can show up in Google and Bing. Stories don't.7 My prediction: long Features could become Instagram's answer to those YouTube citations. Worth watching, not betting on.

That's why I'd record the long version first, even before Features reaches the UK.

Series: episodes on your profile

Series is the part most small businesses will find most useful. It groups Reels you've already posted, or new ones, into a show with its own tab on your profile, so people can watch the episodes in order and pick up where they left off.14 Think "10 days of autumn bakes" or "Monday tip" as one thing people can binge, not ten separate posts.

• Who has it: select creators who already post in episodes, on Instagram and Facebook. Meta confirmed the test on 2 June 2026.14
• Where: the US, India and Mexico since spring 2026, plus microdrama studios in Southeast Asia. More countries "through the end of 2026", with a wider US launch at the end of 2026 or early 2027.23 No UK date.
• You can't apply for it. There's no form or waitlist.

What you can use today: "Link a reel". It's live for everyone and adds a "Watch next" button that sends people from one Reel to the next.15 Post your episodes with the same opening line and number them, link each one to the next, and they'll be ready to drop into a Series when you get it.

Can you use Instagram Features in the UK?

Not in the UK yet. No UK date. Checked 28 Oct 2026.

Instagram says more countries will get it over the coming months. It was tested in Brazil first and is now a small US test. The Hollywood Reporter says Instagram plans to bring it to the US “by the end of the year or early next year”.3

It's still worth planning for now, because it changes what a clip is for. Until now, a clip on Instagram was a trailer that sent people somewhere else. Adam Mosseri described it like this:

“You use platforms like Instagram as the top of funnel to raise awareness and then you kind of go to a podcast player or YouTube.”

With Features, the clip and the full video live in the same app, so people who tap through stay on Instagram. That's why I'd start with one long recording, and the steps are below.

Meta One and paid features

Meta One is Meta's paid subscription, launched on 15 September 2026.9 Business and creator plans start at $14.99 a month per profile. Advanced, from $49.99, adds links in posts and Reels, and Stories scheduling.

Meta hasn't said Features will be paid. Here's what it told TechCrunch:

“It's too early to share a long-term monetization model.”

Creators get no share of ad money yet either.

Instagram's second go at long video

IGTV launched in 2018 and shut down in 2022. It sat in its own corner of the app.

This time it isn't a separate app. Captions and chapters seem to be missing from the test, so expect changes.6

What I'd do now: long video first, clips second

The order has flipped. AI tools, Claude included, can now go through a long video, find the best moments and cut the clips for you. So it's easier to record one long video and clip it than to make lots of short ones from scratch.

Features also evens out the platforms. The long version can now live natively on YouTube, on X with Premium, and soon on Instagram. The clips go out as Shorts, Reels and X posts, each pointing back to it.

1. Record one longer video. 10 to 20 minutes, widescreen: a class, a demo, a Q&A or a tour of the studio.
2. Post the full version natively. YouTube now, and X if you have Premium. Add it to Instagram Features when it reaches the UK.
3. Have AI cut it into 6 to 8 clips. Check each one makes sense on its own: one tip, one answer, one moment.
4. Post the clips as Shorts, Reels and X posts, each pointing back to the full video. Number them and chain them with "Link a reel" on Instagram, so they're ready to become a Series.

If you plan to cut one video into a week of posts, Rheos can plan that week and draft the first version of each caption for you to edit and approve.

I'd leave LinkedIn out of the video plan. In my experience, video explainers don't get much engagement there.

Here's where each version can go.

• YouTube, today. Up to 12 hours for verified accounts. Anyone can post.
• X, if you pay for Premium. Up to 4 hours. Free accounts get 140 seconds.8
• Instagram Features, later. Up to 90 minutes, test creators only. Not in the UK yet.
• Reels, Shorts and X clips, cut from the same recording. Each points back to the long video.

Checked 28 Oct 2026.

I'll keep this page up to date as Instagram shares more.

Sources (16)

1. The Verge, 26 Oct 2026. Instagram's long-form, widescreen Features
2. Variety, 26 Oct 2026. Instagram's 90-minute videos, Apple TV and creator pay
3. The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct 2026. Instagram tests 90-minute videos for podcasters and creators
4. TechCrunch, 26 Oct 2026. Instagram goes from short-form to 90-minute videos
5. PCMag UK, 27 Oct 2026. Instagram prepares to take on YouTube with 90-minute horizontal videos
6. Mashable, 27 Oct 2026. Early Features test gaps and the 20-minute Reels limit
7. Instagram Help Centre, checked 28 Oct 2026. Search engine indexing of professional accounts
8. X Help Centre, checked 28 Oct 2026. Premium longer video uploads
9. Meta Newsroom, 15 Sep 2026. Introducing Meta One
10. Ahrefs, Sep 2026. The most cited domains in Google AI Overviews
11. Rank Prompt, checked 28 Oct 2026. YouTube citations in AI answers study
12. Otterly.ai, checked 28 Oct 2026. Long videos vs Shorts in AI Overview citations.
13. TechCrunch, 5 Aug 2020. Instagram Reels launches globally in over 50 countries
14. TechCrunch, 2 Jun 2026. Meta tests Series for episodic Reels on Instagram and Facebook
15. Instagram Help Centre, checked 28 Oct 2026. Link a reel on Instagram
16. KTLA, 27 Oct 2026. Instagram now testing videos up to 90 minutes long (quoting Mosseri's interview with Colin and Samir)

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