YouTube wants to monetize its growing TV dominance with AI-powered ad formats

At Brandcast 2025, YouTube outlined some novel initiatives for advertising opportunities on the platform.

Perhaps the most alarming was a new ad format called “Peak Points,” which uses Google’s Gemini AI to identify parts of YouTube videos that will drive the most viewer engagement — and then place ads right after them. Another new feature that definitely won’t become annoying for viewers is the introduction of shoppable TV ads, capitalizing on “big-screen-little-screen” viewing culture by allowing users to browse suggested products on TV, then scan a QR code on their phones to get a direct link to buy them.

But YouTube’s major selling point to ad execs was, of course, that it’s now television’s most-watched distributor, beating all other networks and streamers to garner a 12% share of TV viewership in March, per Nielsen estimates. Innovations aside, YouTube’s ability to imitate (and replace) other entertainment outlets will be another big draw: the company also announced that it’s expanding its NFL offerings and piloting a program that allows creators to organize their content into bingeable TV shows.