YouTube will now show ads at the “peak” moment of videos, in a move right out of cliffhanger TV territory.
Announced Wednesday during the company’s Upfront presentation, Peak Points is a new feature that uses Google’s Gemini AI to identify “the most meaningful, or ‘peak,’ moments” to drop ads into YouTube videos.
The idea behind the feature is YouTube connecting brands with the spot in videos “where audiences are the most engaged” and in doing so, allow creators to make more money from ads. These will likely be the most emotional, dramatic, and interesting parts of videos, identified by Gemini by crunching user viewing data. Hilariously, YouTube’s blog post uses the example of a marriage proposal video, highlighting a “targeted moment” right before a suggested ad window. Can’t wait for an ad right after that teary “yes.”
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It’s not a surprising move, by any means, considering YouTube’s dominance in the streaming market and its reliance on advertising as company and creator revenue. The platform has consistently bested industry leaders like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+ as the top-watched streaming service on TVs globally. YouTube also takes the crown for livestreaming, with YouTube Live dominating competitors TikTok and Twitch.
And where there’s audience, there’s marketing.