YouTube is turning to AI to hit you with ads at the most annoying times

Unless you can count yourself among those who have a premium subscription, using YouTube means having to endure ads. This is annoying, but it could be getting a whole lot worse.

And things are getting worse because of artificial intelligence. Google has announced Peak Points, a Gemini ai-powered feature that gives advertisers way to hit you with ads when you are most engaged with a video.

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While it is easy to see why this approach would appeal to advertisers, and Google, the new ad feature is unlikely to be well-received by viewers. Google can charge a premium so advertisers can place ads at what has been deemed to be the point at which viewers are either most engaged or have been emotionally affected by what they have been watching.

As shared by CNBC, Google revealed Peak Points at its Upfront presentation in New York on Wednesday, but it seems that the focus has been very much on grabbing advertisers’ money and viewers’ eyes rather than creating a better ad experience.

To be hit with an ad when your attention has been keenly focused on what is happening in the video is unlikely to result in ad engagement. Similarly, if AI places ads immediately after an emotional segment of a video, a viewer is very unlikely to be thinking about making a purchase.

Image credit: bilalulker / depositphotos