Slightly heavier such ad placements are what YouTube aims for. It uses performers’ AI-based system, Gemini, to identify those video moments when viewers are at their utmost emotionally charged points-the advertisements are then placed right after those moments. Just after a soulful moment, an ad for Temu, really?
The announcement mentions that Gemini can pick out those highly engaging moments in videos- the exact moments of the big reveal, emotional surge, or heck, even that exact meme-worthy 10-second clip- and then “works out the resources for an advertisement just after that.” Because of course, you want to hit them with your psycho duo-step attention-grabbing advertisement before they plot their next click.
The internet reacted. Some comments, “Just use ad blocker” sort were uttered, whereas others rolled into full-blown existential dreads about online content in general. Others joked of a dystopia in which one watches a CPR tutorial interrupted by an ad for $3 CPR devices from Temu. Some said it is yet another nail in YouTube’s coffin to push users into Premium.
Well, let’s put things straight. That technique is not new and has been in use for a long time; television networks had this timing on commercials following a cliffhanger or emotive moment. Yet on a scale, there’s another level of AI precision in YouTube. It barely needs to guess anymore when you are engrossed- it simply *knows.*
Backlash was nearly instantaneous. Sarcastic comments surfaced thanking YouTube for having made it “easier to click off after the good part,” while others promised to “take a dump on [YouTube’s] desk” over this. There were shoutouts to adblockers, with some claiming never to have seen an ad on YouTube in years.
The commercials aren’t just there to annoy people; the advertisements do also pay for the show. More users now turn to the ad blocker to defend themselves, which has left YouTube scratching its head over trying to make sure that the ad few ads that penetrate sting hard. Whether this is good for the business or totally intrusive is a matter of perspective.
Till then, your best defense continues being that which it always has been: get your ad blocker, subscribe for Premium, or go for a reluctant acceptance of the internet slowly evolving into a giant dystopian wasteland full of ads. On that note, the time has come where YouTube ads are going to be much smarter and aggressive than before.
Go right ahead! Enjoy the emotional highs and lows of the video. That was up until the nose-waxing, ads-for-things-you-definitely-do-not-need came down. Thanks, Google!
