YouTube Expands Shopping Affiliate Program with AI Innovation

YouTube is expanding its Shopping Affiliate program to include new merchants, such as Nykaa and Purplle, targeting the beauty and lifestyle segments. The platform also introduces AI-driven tagging for products in videos, enhancing monetization opportunities for creators amidst a rise in shopping-related watch time.

Devdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 10-10-2025 15:03 IST | Created: 10-10-2025 15:03 IST

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YouTube announced an expansion of its Shopping Affiliate program, highlighting a 250% rise in shopping-related watch time. The new initiative, which includes merchants like Nykaa and Purplle, allows creators to tag products for direct viewer purchases, enhancing monetization in the beauty and lifestyle sectors.

In a move to further boost content and engagement, YouTube is launching an AI-driven system to automatically tag products as they are mentioned in videos. This system aims to maximize viewer engagement by precisely timing product tags and will eventually be able to detect all eligible products referenced in videos.

The platform plans significant investments, as outlined by CEO Neal Mohan, with over Rs 850 crore allocated for accelerating growth among Indian creators. More than Rs 21,000 crore has already been paid to creators in India over the past three years, reflecting YouTube's commitment to fostering a thriving creator ecosystem.

(With inputs from agencies.)