Overview

• YouTube is introducing automated mid-roll ad placement to reduce interruptions and improve the viewer experience.
• The new system will prioritize placing ads at natural break points, such as pauses or transitions, instead of disruptive moments like mid-sentence or during action sequences.
• Older videos with manually placed ads will be updated to include additional automated ad slots, though creators can opt out of this change.
• Creators using a mix of automated and manual ad placements in tests saw an average revenue increase of over 5% compared to those using manual placement alone.
• A new YouTube Studio tool will help creators identify whether their manually placed ads are considered interruptive, encouraging a balance between viewer retention and revenue.