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Google-owned YouTube has introduced new generative AI tools for YouTube Shorts, aimed at empowering creators to enhance and streamline their content creation process. The new tools include an image-to-video feature, along with AI-powered effects, designed to elevate and simplify content creation on the platform.


The new image-to-video tool allows users to transform any photo from their camera roll or gallery into a six-second animated video. According to the company’s blog post, this feature will be rolled out now and over the next week—free of charge—in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with more regions to follow later this year.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/youtube-is-a-core-part-of-indias-advertising-ecosystem-ajay-vidyasagar-of-youtube-64237.htm">YouTube is a core part of India’s advertising ecosystem: Ajay Vidyasagar of YouTube</a> 


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/youtubes-monetisation-crackdown-divides-creator-economy-praise-for-originality-push-but-payout-concerns-loom-73932.htm">YouTube's monetisation crackdown divides creator economy; praise for originality push, but payout concerns loom</a> 


The company highlighted that their latest generative AI effects can transform doodles into images and turn selfies into videos, with fun options like swimming underwater, twinning with a lookalike sibling, and more. The post added, “Find these and other effects by navigating to the Effects icon in the Shorts camera, then tap on AI to browse all generative effects. We’ll be expanding access to more creators globally in the coming weeks.”


The post highlighted that the photo-to-video feature and generative effects are powered by Veo 2, with Veo 3 set to roll out on YouTube Shorts later this summer. It also noted that Google Photos is launching its own photo-to-video feature, further expanding the company’s suite of creative tools, which includes Gemini.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/youtube-retires-trending-page-after-nearly-a-decade-75844.htm">YouTube retires Trending Page after nearly a decade</a>

YouTube Shorts launches AI tools to boost creator content

Alphabet’s Sales and Marketing expenses increased by 4.6% year-over-year in the June quarter (from $6.79 billion to $7.10 billion). On a year-to-date basis, spending rose by 11.4% (from $13.22 billion in 2024 to $14.72 billion in 2025). This suggests a steady uptick in promotional or customer acquisition efforts, possibly tied to expanding AI products, platform competition, or new market strategies.

Highlighting the company’s momentum as it leans into artificial intelligence and its core advertising business. The company posted a 14% year-over-year rise in revenue to $96.43 billion, while net income climbed 19% to $28.2 billion. Operating income grew 14% to $31.27 billion, with services revenue up 12% to $82.5 billion.

Google’s advertising revenue climbed to $71.3 billion from $64.6 billion a year earlier, a 10.4 percent increase, with YouTube ad revenue jumping 13 percent to $9.8 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, ad revenue was up 6.6 percent, matching the sequential growth in overall revenue, while profit rose 2.17 percent.

Search, Google’s largest business, benefited from the company’s aggressive rollout of AI features, including AI Mode, which launched in the United States and India, and AI Overviews, now available in more than 200 countries and territories. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s chief executive, emphasized that these additions are driving increased user engagement.

“AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages,” Pichai said, noting that the features are prompting users to search more frequently, especially among younger audiences.

Pichai described the quarter as a reflection of the company’s strong positioning in artificial intelligence. “We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company. We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum. Search delivered double-digit revenue growth, and our new features, like AI Overviews and AI Mode, are performing well,” he said.

Beyond Search, Alphabet continues to see strength across its portfolio. YouTube’s ad and subscription businesses expanded, while Shorts, its short-form video offering, now generates as much revenue per watch hour in the United States as traditional instream ads. “In some countries, it now even exceeds instream's rate,” Pichai said.

Alphabet’s cloud division also posted gains, with Google Cloud revenues rising 32 percent to $13.6 billion, driven by demand for AI products and infrastructure. “Nearly all gen AI unicorns use Google Cloud,” Pichai said, as the division’s annual revenue run rate now exceeds $50 billion, with new Google Cloud Platform customers increasing nearly 28 percent from the previous quarter.

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Google-owner Alphabet spends $14.72 billion on sales & marketing in FY25

Alphabet reported a strong second quarter, highlighting the resilience of its core advertising business as it accelerates its artificial intelligence push. The company’s flagship Google Search unit delivered double-digit revenue growth, helping drive a 14 percent year-over-year increase in overall revenue to $96.43 billion. Net income rose 19 percent to $28.2 billion for the quarter that ended in June.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/sundar-pichai-says-ai-overviews-now-has-over-2-billion-monthly-users-as-google-reports-standout-quarter-76475.htm">Read more: Sundar Pichai says Google Search's AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users</a>

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/youtubes-ad-revenue-climbs-13-to-9-8-billion-in-q2-fueling-googles-growth-76483.htm">Read more: YouTube's ad revenue climbs 13% to $9.8 billion in Q2, fueling Google’s growth</a>

Google’s advertising revenue climbed to $71.3 billion from $64.6 billion a year earlier, a 10.4 percent increase, with YouTube ad revenue jumping 13 percent to $9.8 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, ad revenue was up 6.6 percent, matching the sequential growth in overall revenue, while profit rose 2.17 percent.

Search, Google’s largest business, benefited from the company’s aggressive rollout of AI features, including AI Mode, which launched in the United States and India, and AI Overviews, now available in more than 200 countries and territories. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s chief executive, emphasized that these additions are driving increased user engagement.

“AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages,” Pichai said, noting that the features are prompting users to search more frequently, especially among younger audiences.

Pichai described the quarter as a reflection of the company’s strong positioning in artificial intelligence. “We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company. We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum. Search delivered double-digit revenue growth, and our new features, like AI Overviews and AI Mode, are performing well,” he said.

Beyond Search, Alphabet continues to see strength across its portfolio. YouTube’s ad and subscription businesses expanded, while Shorts, its short-form video offering, now generates as much revenue per watch hour in the United States as traditional instream ads. “In some countries, it now even exceeds instream's rate,” Pichai said.

Alphabet’s cloud division also posted gains, with Google Cloud revenues rising 32 percent to $13.6 billion, driven by demand for AI products and infrastructure. “Nearly all gen AI unicorns use Google Cloud,” Pichai said, as the division’s annual revenue run rate now exceeds $50 billion, with new Google Cloud Platform customers increasing nearly 28 percent from the previous quarter.

Alphabet is ramping up its AI investments, planning capital expenditures of approximately $85 billion in 2025 to support its infrastructure and meet growing demand for generative AI solutions. “We operate the leading global network of AI optimized data centers and cloud regions,” Pichai said.

Google’s Gemini models, which Pichai described as providing “industry-leading performance in nearly every major benchmark,” are now integrated across products, including Workspace and the Gemini App, which has over 450 million monthly active users.

The company’s autonomous vehicle unit, Waymo, also marked progress, expanding its driverless operations in Austin, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and launching in Atlanta last month. “The Waymo Driver has now autonomously driven over 100 million miles on public roads,” Mr. Pichai said.

Alphabet’s quarterly results reflect the strength of its diversified business, anchored by Search and underpinned by its AI advancements. As Mr. Pichai noted, “This is all possible because of the long-term investments we've made in our differentiated, full-stack approach to AI. This spans AI infrastructure; world-class research, models and tooling; and our products and platforms that bring AI to people all over the world.”

Google Search helps power Alphabet’s $96.4 billion quarter as AI push gains speed

Alphabet reported a strong second quarter, with growth across its sprawling business, as the company’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence fuels its core products and newer bets, including cloud and autonomous driving. “Q2 was a standout quarter for us, with robust growth across the company,” Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s chief executive, said during the company’s earnings call. “As you saw at I/O, we are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum.”

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/youtubes-ad-revenue-climbs-13-to-9-8-billion-in-q2-fueling-googles-growth-76483.htm">Read more: YouTube's ad revenue climbs 13% to $9.8 billion in Q2, fueling Google’s growth</a>

Search, Google’s largest business, delivered double-digit revenue growth, aided by new features such as AI Mode, which launched in the United States and India. “AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages,” Pichai noted, adding that the company’s new AI features are prompting users to search more frequently, particularly among younger audiences.

At the same time, YouTube showed strength in both advertising and subscriptions, with the company reporting that Shorts, its short-form video product, now earns as much revenue per watch hour as traditional instream ads in the United States. “In some countries, it now even exceeds instream's rate,” Pichai said.

Google Cloud, the company’s fastest-growing division, continued to benefit from what Mr. Pichai described as “significant demand for our comprehensive AI product portfolio.” The unit, which has an annual revenue run rate of more than $50 billion, has seen large customer deals double year-over-year, with the number of new Google Cloud Platform customers rising by nearly 28% quarter-over-quarter. “Nearly all gen AI unicorns use Google Cloud,” Pichai said.

The company’s focus on artificial intelligence extends beyond product launches to the underlying infrastructure that powers these offerings. “We operate the leading global network of AI optimized data centers and cloud regions,” Pichai said, emphasizing that the company’s investments in AI accelerators and optimized software packages are designed to meet growing demand while improving performance and efficiency.

Google’s Gemini models, which Pichai described as providing “industry-leading performance in nearly every major benchmark,” have been integrated across the company’s offerings, from Workspace to the Gemini App, which now has over 450 million monthly active users. In June alone, more than 50 million people used AI-powered meeting notes in Google Meet, and Google’s new video generation model, Veo 3, has been used to create over 70 million videos since May.

The company also highlighted continued momentum in Waymo, its autonomous driving unit, which launched in Atlanta last month while expanding its service areas in Austin, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. “The Waymo Driver has now autonomously driven over 100 million miles on public roads,” Pichai said.

The company sees artificial intelligence as central to its future. “This is all possible because of the long-term investments we've made in our differentiated, full-stack approach to AI,” Pichai said. “This spans AI infrastructure; world-class research, models and tooling; and our products and platforms that bring AI to people all over the world.”

As Alphabet moves deeper into AI-powered products, the company signaled plans to “keep enhancing the AI Mode experience for users by shipping great features, fast,” with improvements such as Deep Search and personalized responses in Search, while expanding AI-powered features across YouTube, Workspace, and Android.

Sundar Pichai says Google Search's AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users

Google announced several initiatives aimed at advancing India's artificial intelligence capabilities and supporting its developer community at Google I/O Connect India 2025 on Wednesday.

A key announcement was the localization of onshore processing for Gemini 2.5 Flash. This aims to provide faster, low-latency AI performance for Indian developers, particularly in regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, and governance.

Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind, stated, "Indian developers are literally writing the next chapter of India's success story, using AI capabilities to build real-world applications that are reaching millions of businesses and people across India and the world."

Google also highlighted its commitment to India's developer ecosystem. The company reported that its Play and Android platforms generated ₹4 lakh crore in revenue and created 35 lakh jobs in 2024. Additionally, Google introduced agentic AI tools and optimized templates within Firebase Studio, designed to enable developers to build and deploy full-stack AI applications with increased speed and efficiency.

For mobile commerce, Google expanded access to over 250 million mapped places globally and launched India-specific pricing for Google Maps UI components. AI-powered summaries in the Places API will assist developers in creating location-based services for Indian users.

Furthering India's AI ambitions, Google is collaborating with three India AI Mission startups—Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani—on Make-in-India AI models based on Gemma. Sarvam's "Sarvam-Translate" model was cited as an example of this work. In partnership with IIT Bombay's BharatGen, Google is also working to advance ASR and TTS models for Indic languages.

To support the Indian game development community, Google launched the 'Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training' program in collaboration with Unity and GDAI. This program will initially target 500 Indian developers, offering over 30 hours of specialized training across various game development roles.

The Gen AI Exchange Hackathon was also highlighted, encouraging developers to apply AI skills to real-world challenges. During the event, startups including Sarvam, InVideo, Glance, and Nykaa showcased solutions developed using Google's AI models.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/indias-ai-revolution-airtel-hand-delivers-perplexity-pro-to-370-mn-challenging-googles-reign-75571.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Airtel’s bold bet: Perplexity Pro lands on 370 mn phones, taking aim at Google in India’s AI race</a>

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Google boosts India's AI ambition with Gemini localization, developer support

Alphabet reported a robust second quarter for 2025, highlighting the company’s momentum as it leans into artificial intelligence and its core advertising business. The company posted a 14% year-over-year rise in revenue to $96.43 billion, while net income climbed 19% to $28.2 billion. Operating income grew 14% to $31.27 billion, with services revenue up 12% to $82.5 billion.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/sundar-pichai-says-ai-overviews-now-has-over-2-billion-monthly-users-as-google-reports-standout-quarter-76475.htm">Read more: Sundar Pichai says AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users as Google reports standout quarter</a>

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/google-search-helps-power-alphabets-96-4-billion-quarter-as-ai-push-gains-speed-76513.htm">Read more: Google Search helps power Alphabet’s $96.4 billion quarter as AI push gains speed</a>

Google’s advertising revenue rose to $71.3 billion from $64.6 billion a year ago, marking a 10.4% annual increase. YouTube ad revenue also beat expectations, climbing 13% year-over-year to $9.8 billion.

Compared to the previous quarter, ad revenue was up 6.6%, with overall revenue showing the same sequential increase, while profit rose 2.17%.

Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, said: “We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company. We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum. Search delivered double-digit revenue growth, and our new features, like AI Overviews and AI Mode, are performing well. We continue to see strong performance in YouTube as well as subscription offerings. And Cloud had strong growth in revenues, backlog and profitability. Its annual revenue run-rate is now more than $50 billion. With this strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services, we are increasing our investment in capital expenditures in 2025 to approximately $85 billion and are excited by the opportunity ahead.”

SUMMARY: Alphabet Inc. financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.

• Consolidated Alphabet revenues in Q2 2025 increased 14%, or 13% in constant currency, year over year to
$96.4 billion reflecting robust momentum across the business. Google Search & other, YouTube ads, Google
subscriptions, platforms, and devices, and Google Cloud each delivered double-digit growth in Q2.

• Google Services revenues increased 12% to $82.5 billion, reflecting strong performance across Google
Search & other, Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices, and YouTube ads.

• Google Cloud revenues increased 32% to $13.6 billion, led by growth in Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
across core GCP products, AI Infrastructure, and Generative AI Solutions.

• Total operating income increased 14% and operating margin was 32.4%. Operating margin benefited from
strong revenue growth and continued efficiencies in the expense base, partially offset by a charge related to
a settlement in principle of certain legal matters.

• Net income increased 19% and EPS increased 22% to $2.31.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/youtube-advertising-revenue-clocks-10-47-billion-in-q4-parent-firm-alphabets-ai-investments-rise-55671.htm">Read more: YouTube advertising revenue clocks $10.47 billion in Q4; Parent-firm Alphabet's AI investments rise</a>

YouTube's ad revenue climbs 13% to $9.8 billion in Q2, fueling Google’s growth

Google is making a deeper play for the fast-growing retail media market, rolling out new tools that promise to connect brands and retailers with sharper targeting and greater transparency, while leaning heavily on the tech giant’s artificial intelligence capabilities.

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The company announced that its Commerce Media suite, now available in beta, will extend across Search Ads 360, Display & Video 360 and Google Ads, offering what it describes as “expanded reach and Google AI-driven performance” for advertisers looking to tap into the booming retail media sector.

Retail media — where retailers use their digital properties to sell ad space to brands — has become one of the fastest-growing segments in advertising. Google, with its reach across YouTube, Search and Display, is now positioning itself as the connective tissue between retailers and brands seeking to capture shoppers across the web.

One of the marquee developments is a partnership with Roundel, US-based Target’s retail media arm, which will now allow advertisers to measure online, app and offline sales data within Performance Max campaigns through Search Ads 360. This move, Google says, will allow brands to better assess how digital ads translate into actual purchases, whether they happen online or in physical stores.

Beyond Performance Max, Google is expanding measurement capabilities to Search, Shopping and Demand Gen campaigns within Google Ads, offering brands a broader view of their media investments.

Google also announced improved self-service options for major marketplaces, including Shopee, Rakuten and Flipkart, enabling these platforms to share product catalogs directly with brands for advertising, a move that could streamline collaboration between e-commerce players and advertisers in markets like India and Southeast Asia.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/instagram-to-make-public-posts-searchable-on-googlebing-74611.htm">Read more: Instagram to make public posts searchable on Google,Bing</a>

In a notable expansion, Google is bringing retail media to YouTube through Display & Video 360, giving brands additional reach for commerce-focused campaigns on one of the world’s largest video platforms. The company also revealed that it is piloting product-level measurement tools, which would allow brands and retailers to analyze the effectiveness of their ad spend against specific product and category sales data.

For Google, the push into retail media comes as advertisers seek new ways to reach consumers amid shifting privacy rules and changing online behaviors. By offering integrated measurement and targeting capabilities powered by AI, Google is aiming to become a critical partner for brands and retailers navigating the complex world of commerce media.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/ai-mode-google-expands-ai-powered-search-feature-to-all-users-in-india-73438.htm">Read more: AI Mode: Google expands AI-powered search feature to all users in India</a>

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Google expands retail media play, partners Flipkart and Shopee to boost AI-powered commerce ads

YouTube has announced the retirement of its Trending Page and the associated Now Trending list, effective today, July 22, 2025. This decision follows a observed decline in user engagement with the feature and a shift in how audiences discover content on the platform.

End of an Era for Trending Page

Launched in 2015, the Trending Page was designed to highlight popular videos across YouTube. Over time, its function evolved, becoming more of a metric for content creators rather than a primary tool for content discovery.

YouTube's blog post earlier this month stated that visits to the Trending Page have decreased over the past five years. The company attributes this to changes in user behavior. Viewers are now primarily using personalized recommendations, Shorts, search suggestions, comments, and the Community tab for discovering popular content.

The company noted that "YouTube's Home Page and algorithm-driven suggestions have become the go-to sources for users to find popular and relevant content." As personalization capabilities have improved, users have gravitated away from generalized lists like Trending.

Accessing Trending Content Moving Forward

While the Trending Page is being retired, YouTube has confirmed that trending content will remain accessible through other avenues. YouTube Charts will continue to feature trending music videos, top podcast shows, and movie trailers, with plans for category expansion.

Gaming enthusiasts can still find trending videos via the dedicated Gaming Explore page. All users can explore content through the Explore tab, creator channels, and their subscription feeds.

For content creators, YouTube Studio's Inspiration tab will continue to provide content ideas based on emerging trends and audience interests.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/youtube-premiums-muffled-pitch-why-a-sound-strategy-isnt-converting-in-india-75036.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">YouTube Premium's muffled pitch: Why a "sound strategy" isn't converting in India</a>

Read More:<a href="http://v" rel="noopener" target="_blank">https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/youtube-premiums-muffled-pitch-why-a-sound-strategy-isnt-converting-in-india-75036.htm</a>

YouTube retires Trending Page after nearly a decade

Everyone Storyboard18 spoke to who uses YouTube Premium swears by it. No ads, uninterrupted playlists, background play, downloads — the experience is smooth, addictive, and, as many described it, “worth every rupee.” And yet, the numbers tell a different story: less than 5% of India’s YouTube audience is on Premium, according to industry estimates.

That’s the paradox. YouTube Premium isn’t failing because people don’t like it — it’s failing because most never try it. Despite aggressive ad enforcement and user frustration with poor targeting and frequency, Indians remain reluctant to pay ₹129 a month to make the annoyance go away.

Why? It’s not just about affordability. “In India, paying to not see something still feels counterintuitive to most digital users,” says Sindhu Biswal, CEO and founder of BuzzLab. “We’re a country that’s grown up on jugaad, skip buttons, and watching full cricket matches with banner ads dancing on top.” For most, he explains, YouTube’s Premium pitch essentially paying for an absence is a tough sell, especially when platforms like Spotify or OTTs offer visible benefits like exclusive content or early access.

Still, for those who’ve made the switch, Premium is more than ad-free browsing — it’s a habit.

Aditya Worah, a podcast producer says, “Spotify has just songs and podcasts, but YouTube has that — and much, much more.” Whether it's listening while walking, cooking, or working, Premium’s background play and download options have become indispensable.

Akshay Mathur, Founder & CEO - Unpromptd, who is a Premium Family plan subscriber for nearly a year, highlights two major use cases: background play for multitasking and an ad-free YouTube Music experience, particularly during parties. “The only downside, in my opinion,” they say, “is that at this price point, there’s no access to premium content. It should include some better and exclusive content.”

Manish M Nagori calls the service ‘fully satisfying’, especially with a child at home. “It’s connected to my TV where my kid listens to nursery rhymes, so no ads is a great feature.” He praises YouTube’s compatibility across platforms — Android TV, iPhone, CarPlay — and the YT Music app’s “great randomized algorithm.” His only gripe is YouTube’s own UX issue: “Not being able to find Continue Watching videos.”

Rutwik subscribes primarily for music. “YouTube is the original content repository for artists — the hub for all music, remixes, special sets,” they say. “Other platforms lose access to songs due to licensing, but YouTube is a saviour during those times.”
The ad-free benefit has grown on them too. “When I’m watching a recipe, revisiting old videos, or learning a skill, not having ads saves time. Though as a marketer, it feels a bit ironic — guilty as charged.”
They’re happy with the service overall: “The pricing is fair, and features like PiP, queuing, and syncing across devices really enhance the experience.”

Rony Patra values both YouTube Premium and Spotify, but sees YouTube as unmatched in scale. “Spotify is great for surfacing unknown artists. But YouTube’s catalogue is deeper — especially for long-lost or rare songs. YT Music’s algorithm may not match Spotify, but it performs decently.”

A Sound Strategy With a Muffled Pitch

The user experience is not the problem — the messaging is. “YouTube Premium isn’t selling an experience,” Biswal points out. “It’s selling an absence. And until that changes, it’ll remain a nice-to-skip product in India.”

From a business model perspective, YouTube Premium makes strategic sense. According to Arjit Sachdeva, co-founder of VDO.AI, the platform is clearly in long-game mode. “YouTube reported $8.92 billion in ad revenue for Q3 2024, up 12% year-on-year. And they’ve invested in server-side ad injection — not something you do for short-term gain.”

He notes that Premium subscribers also generate more consistent revenue per minute for creators, since payouts are based on watch time, not volatile ad CPMs. “They’re betting their content moat — especially among heavy users — is deep enough to shift behavior.”

Still, Sachdeva flags a fundamental challenge. “When 52% of users don’t convert despite aggressive prompts, it’s a messaging issue, not a pricing one.” He contrasts YouTube’s approach with Netflix’s — the latter built desire through exclusivity. “YouTube is limiting existing features instead. It’s a strategic plan hampered by tactical friction.”

The risk? “The execution might undermine what’s otherwise a smart model,” he warns. “There’s a clear shift toward subscription revenue. But the way it’s being pushed could be slowing that evolution.”

Meanwhile, Kartik Mehta, Head of Asia at Channel Factory, highlights a parallel concern: ad fatigue. “Most Indian users accept ads as the cost of free content — but poor targeting and repetition wear them down.” His firm’s consumer research shows that 68% of users are open to ads — if they’re relevant. But fatigue levels in India are already 10% higher than other APAC markets.

“The irony is that Premium uptake is low, so most brand activity still targets the free tier,” he says. “But that makes relevance even more important. Bad targeting feels intrusive. Good targeting adds value.”

YouTube’s move to block ad blockers with global ad blocker usage near 43% — may boost revenue, Kartik notes. “They hit $10.4 billion in ad revenue in Q4 2024, a 13.8% YoY jump. With this crackdown, revenue could surge by another 30–37%.”

YouTube Premium doesn’t have a product problem — it has a communication problem. For users who’ve taken the leap, it’s sticky, satisfying, and surprisingly versatile. But for the rest of India, it remains invisible, misunderstood, or simply unnecessary. Unless YouTube can shift the narrative from “remove the annoyance” to “unlock a better experience,” the service will remain beloved by a few and bypassed by the many.

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YouTube Premium's muffled pitch: Why a "sound strategy" isn't converting in India

YouTube has issued a clarification regarding an upcoming update to its monetisation guidelines under the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), set to take effect from July 15. Contrary to speculation, the platform confirmed that the update does not introduce a new policy but is simply a refinement of an existing one.

The key change involves renaming the “repetitious content” guideline to “inauthentic content,” a term YouTube believes better captures content that is mass-produced, overly repetitive, or perceived as spammy and low-value by viewers. This type of content has long been ineligible for monetisation, and the updated language is meant to make the rule clearer for creators.

“We regularly update and evolve our policies based on the content on YouTube,” the platform said in a statement. “This update is to clarify that this policy includes content that is mass-produced or repetitive.”

Among the key clarifications YouTube provided:

No new policy is being introduced. The July 15 change is purely a linguistic update and not a revamp of the existing monetisation rules. The policy applies regardless of how content is created, including whether it involves artificial intelligence (AI) or not.

AI-generated content remains eligible for monetisation, provided it is original, authentic, and complies with disclosure requirements for synthetic or altered material.

Rules regarding reused content remain unchanged. Clips, compilations, and reaction videos can still be monetised as long as they add significant original value—be it educational, critical, or entertaining.

To help creators better understand what qualifies as “mass-produced” content, YouTube cited examples such as channels uploading narrated stories with only minor variations and those publishing slideshows with identical narration across multiple videos.

The platform reiterated the importance of originality in uploaded content to remain eligible for monetisation. Creators can refer to YouTube’s Help Centre for additional examples and comprehensive guidelines.

The clarification comes as YouTube continues to evolve its platform policies in response to the growing use of AI tools and the need for clearer communication with content creators.

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