Overview
- YouTube announced Thursday, September 24, that it has added Amazon, AJIO, Meesho, Snapdeal and Tata CLiQ to India’s Shopping affiliate programme alongside existing partners such as Flipkart and Myntra.
- The company lowered eligibility so smaller creators can join the programme, with reports saying creators with roughly 500 followers can now tag products and earn commissions on sales.
- YouTube introduced specific AI features for shopping and creators, including Ask YouTube for product Q&A on a video’s watch page, Ask Studio for Brand Partnerships to help draft pitches, and Gemini-powered conversational editing for Shorts.
- Product tags will change by viewer region so viewers see local retailers and prices in local currencies, a step YouTube says will let Indian creators earn commissions from international audiences.
- YouTube cited fast growth in India as the driver for the push, reporting more than 450 million users search shopping content, shopping watch time up 55% year over year, and affiliate payouts to creators up about 160% year on year, and it plans 'Exclusive Affiliate Campaigns' for brands and creators next year.