As India's viewing habits shift, YouTube arms advertisers with AI and new targeting
YouTube is leveraging Google's AI capabilities, including Gemini. A new tool called "Peak Points" is slated to roll out next year, which will use AI to identify the most engaging moments within popular content, allowing brands to place their ads when audience attention is at its highest.
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At its annual Brandcast event, YouTube positioned itself as a primary contender for the title of "India's new TV," citing significant audience growth across both its short-form and long-form video offerings. The platform is increasingly becoming a central hub for entertainment, with a reported 87% of surveyed Indian viewers being more likely to use YouTube daily than any other online video platform or traditional TV.
The company's claims are backed by new data points, including over 650 million monthly logged-in viewers for YouTube Shorts in India and a connected TV audience that has surpassed 75 million. This convergence of formats—from the bite-sized content of Shorts to long-form content on the big screen—is driving a "YouTube-first" strategy for a growing number of brands, who are looking to navigate a fragmented media landscape.
To capitalize on this shift, YouTube announced a suite of new ad solutions aimed at giving advertisers more control and precision. A new "urban and rural" targeting feature will allow brands to create tailored campaigns for different geographical audiences within India. The platform is also integrating its creator ecosystem more deeply into the ad process with a new "Creator Partnerships Hub," enabling advertisers to manage collaborations directly inside Google Ads.
Looking to the future, YouTube is leveraging Google's AI capabilities, including Gemini. A new tool called "Peak Points" is slated to roll out next year, which will use AI to identify the most engaging moments within popular content, allowing brands to place their ads when audience attention is at its highest.
The event featured a case study from insurance provider Acko, which reported a 40% year-over-year business growth and an 82% reduction in media costs after adopting a full-stack YouTube strategy encompassing connected TV, Shorts, and demand-generation campaigns. The success story, along with the new advertising tools, underscores a significant shift in how marketers are approaching the Indian consumer, moving away from traditional media and toward platforms that offer both scale and precision.
