In an attempt to boost ad spending and commerce across its services, Google is getting ready to add new shopping features to YouTube. Later this year, brands will be able to bring shoppable ads to the video service. YouTube is also planning to give shopping recommendations related to YouTube videos, and share some of the affiliate fees with YouTube creators.
The company announced the these plans at a Marketing event in San Francisco Tuesday, where it also launched shoppable ads for a number of other services, including Discover, the curated newsfeed previously known as Google Now. Google Shopping, the company’s primary e-commerce offering, also received a face lift.
Showcase Shopping Ads, which are basically visual ads that highlight shoppable products, are arriving on Discover and Google Images effective immediately, and will come to YouTube soon, according to a company blog post.
Details around YouTube’s plans to bring shopping directly to videos from creators are a bit more murky, with YouTube promising to share additional details in the coming months. However, Bloomberg reported Tuesday that YouTube was planning to share some affiliate revenue with creators whose videos are being used to sell products.
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YouTube isn’t the first service to enlist creators in selling products to their fans. Facebook announced at its f8 developer conference last month that it would let Instagram influencers sell products featured in their photos directly to their audience. Instagram’s shoppable posts launched as part of a closed beta test with a few dozen creators, including Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian.