YouTube will soon start recommending products that are visible inside videos. The ‘Products in this Video’ section could arrive through an update in the next few weeks.
YouTube viewers can expect automated suggestions about products that are visible inside videos streaming on the platform. The company claims users will be able to identify products that appear in the video and search for related content on the video site.
Products in this Video feature builds upon pre-existing ‘Recommended Videos’ section:
Google and YouTube have been conducting experiments with finding and suggesting products that appear in the videos. The previous efforts focused on offering additional information about the products.
In other words, in an earlier iteration of the platform, YouTube suggested additional videos that could help viewers with more information. For example, a video about a Google Pixel smartphone could suggest more videos about the smartphone.
YouTube plans to expand beyond its 'Products in This Video' feature w/ a new tool that serves an automated list of products detected in videos.
This will increase product discovery by helping users find more videos w/ products they care about the most.https://t.co/rLZbvLQpQh
— Lindsey Gamble (@LindseyGamble_) March 23, 2021
In the new iteration, the push seems towards automated advertising and monetization. In other words, YouTube is now attempting to garner information about products to help viewers buy the same.
Speaking about the endeavor, YouTube said: “We are experimenting with a new feature that displays a list of products detected in some videos, as well as related products. The goal is to help people explore more videos and information about those products on YouTube.”
The new feature auto-detects specific items and generates related video links to anything featured:
The ‘Products in this Video’ is still an experimental feature. In other words, even Google and YouTube are testing how to best deploy the same.
YouTube is currently testing the feature with a very small group of viewers in the United States. During the initial tests, YouTube seems to be offering outward links to products the platform identifies inside videos.
Hinting about how the Products in this Video feature will work, YouTube added: “The feature will appear in between the recommended videos, to viewers scrolling below the video player.”
YouTube will recommend products shown in videos https://t.co/73ZS8KExRr
— SyntaxError (@DataAugmented) March 23, 2021
This means YouTube could offer product listings inside the recommended videos list. Previously, the list only contained related videos from the same or other channels.
Overall, the feature could help viewers who visit YouTube with a clear goal of conducting research about the products they wish to buy. With easy access to product listings, YouTube visitors could push monetization of the platform.
How about the brand new experiment?
(literally started this month)
YouTube is currently experimenting with a new integrated shopping experience
What does it do?
It will display a list of products that they DETECT in videos, or related products pic.twitter.com/9rQNIQcPpo
— That Google Ads Guy (@SchmelebeckPPC) March 23, 2021
Many video content creators, also known as YouTubers, specifically create and publish videos that contain multiple products. These publishers offer links to the products in the description and/or in the pinned comment.
Needless to add, the Products in this Video would work in a similar manner. However, YouTube might not present affiliate links that the publisher has listed. Instead, the platform would intelligently decipher the products in the video and could recommend its own links.
YouTube is increasingly becoming a search engine. Visitors and viewers are relying on the platform for research and entertainment purposes.
With such features, YouTube could significantly alter the way advertising works. Moreover, it could also influence the actual video creation and content production process.