YouTube ads could become less annoying thanks to Gemini

YouTube already tells viewers what the most interesting bits in a video are as they scroll through the timeline. Now, using Gemini, it will identify those moments and place an ad right after. Ads in YouTube videos are nothing new and users can buy a YouTube Premium subscription for an ad-free experience, but with this new development ads will be placed where viewers are most engaged. 

During the latest Brandcast 2025 event for YouTube's 20th birthday, the company announced what its calling “Peak Points.” It is a new product built with Gemini that essentially identifies moments in videos where viewers are most engaged, called “peak” moments, and places an ad right after. The short video description shows a peak or targeted moment with an ‘Ad Window’ identified by AI following right after. 

Most YouTube videos that have been watched a number of times have a wave that can be seen when hovering over the timeline. The high points or peaks in these waves suggest that viewers are either jumping to that particular point in the video or leaving the video right after.

This move is to help creators and brands target their audience at the right time. It is unclear when this new product will be implemented. This development could be a good or a bad experience depending on how it is implemented. From what it looks like in the short video, the ads will not interrupt the peak moments but pop up right after. Currently, ads sometimes pop up during peak moments which gets annoying so this could be a welcome change. However, if these AI determined ad spots come in addition to the already sprinkled ads, it could be a worse experience.