YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has announced his four pillars of focus for the year ahead, as the platform looks to lean into emerging usage behaviors, and align with the creative AI shift.
Each year, Mohan publishes an overview of what he’s focused on, based on key trends, in which he also includes some valuable usage notes and pointers that could impact your YouTube strategy.
And this year is no different, with Mohan providing some key trend notes, while also highlighting the way ahead for the app.
First off, Mohan says that YouTube is now the “epicentre of culture” due to its expanding cultural impact, in various ways.
As per Mohan:
“This was clear in the lead up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election as Americans came to YouTube for election-related content from a broad range of sources, including Joe Rogan’s interview with President Trump which garnered 55 million views (and counting) and primetime comedy sketches on Saturday Night Live. From elections to the Olympics to Coachella to the Super Bowl and the Cricket World Cup, the world’s biggest moments play out on YouTube.”
On this front, Mohan also notes that podcasts have seen significant growth in the app, with YouTube now becoming the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the U.S.
“We’ve long invested in the podcast experience and creators have found that video makes this format even more compelling. This year we’ll roll out more tools to support podcasters, improve monetization for creators, and make it even easier to discover podcasts.”
That’s pretty amazing, that YouTube, which is primarily focused on video, is now also seeing such huge podcast support, which could make it a bigger consideration for your podcast strategy, if it wasn’t already.
Mohan also says YouTube is committed to assisting creators in building their YouTube presence, through expanded monetization pathways and support.
Mohan says that while ads remain the key revenue stream for most, YouTube is also investing in new ways for creators to partner with brands to maximize their efforts.
“Last year, more than 50% of channels earning five figures or more on YouTube made money from sources other than ads & YouTube Premium. Shopping recommendations are also becoming a key revenue stream for many creators, like Bora Claire who recently shared with us that she generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales from a single video reviewing cashmere cardigans. And last year we saw more than a 40% increase in channel memberships.”
Enhanced monetization pathways, including new income streams, will remain a focus for YouTube this year, while it’ll also work to incorporate more in-stream sales and shopping opportunities.
Connected TV viewing is also big, with Mohan noting that TV has now surpassed mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. by watch time.
Which is a huge shift, and Mohan’s looking to lean into this by providing new, interactive TV viewing experiences.
“As more creators produce content for the big screen, we’re bringing the best of YouTube to TVs, including a second screen experience that lets you use your phone to interact with the video you’re watching on TV — for example, to leave a comment or make a purchase. We’re also experimenting with a new feature called Watch With, which enables creators to provide live commentary and real time reactions to games and events. We began testing this feature last year with the NFL and will experiment with other sports and types of content this year.”
This has long been the Holy Grail of social media engagement, in connecting TV viewing to online interaction, and if YouTube can get it right, this could be a major lure for more, bigger TV productions and projects, aligning with YouTube viewing behaviors.
Also interesting:
“We’ll use machine learning in 2025 to help us estimate a user’s age – distinguishing between younger viewers and adults – to help provide the best and most age appropriate experiences and protections.”
Not a lot of detail there, but it’ll be interesting to see what solutions YouTube comes up with on this front.
Of course, AI is also another focus, with YouTube looking to incorporate more AI features to help creators make the most of their content.
YouTube has already incorporated a range of AI elements, like background image generation and AI soundtrack options.
Next up, it’s looking to enable video thumbnail creation via AI, as well as title suggestions, while it also recently expanded access to AI-generated audio in other languages, which can help to expand your audience.
On the other side, YouTube’s also developing tools to help individuals detect and control how AI is used to depict them on YouTube.
These are all important elements, and it’ll be interesting to see how YouTube continues to tackle each aspect of AI content creation, while also facilitating enhanced opportunities through the same.
Some valuable pointers on YouTube’s key areas of focus, and where it’s seeing growth, which could help to guide your own YouTube content strategy.
You can read Mohan’s full 2025 overview here.
