Imagine you’re watching a highly anticipated video from your favorite YouTube creator — perhaps the moment a famous couple finally gets engaged — when an ad pops up immediately after the clip. This is part of YouTube’s new ad format called “Peak Points.”
The company revealed the new ad format during its Upfront presentation on Wednesday in New York.
Peak Points leverages Google’s Gemini AI to analyze YouTube videos and identify moments it believes have the highest viewer engagement or are most emotionally impactful, and then suggests placing the ad right after it.
Point Peaks aims to benefit advertisers by using a tactic that aims to grab users’ attention right when they’re most invested in the content. This approach appears to be similar to a strategy called emotion-based targeting, where advertisers place ads that align with the emotions evoked by the video. It’s believed that when viewers experience heightened emotional states, it leads to better recall of the ads.
However, viewers may find these interruptions frustrating, especially when they’re deeply engaged in the emotional arc of a video and want the ad to be over quickly to resume watching.
In related news, YouTube announced another ad format that may be more appealing to users. The platform debuted a shoppable product feed where users can browse and purchase items during an ad.