YouTube brings AI shopping to India: Creators can tag products instantly
AI now tags products mid-video in India to help creators monetize faster
Sometime this morning, as creators across India logged in, they found something new: YouTube’s AI is beginning to whisper 'tag that product now'—literally. The video giant has quietly expanded its shopping affiliate program in India, and with it comes a new generation of AI tools that aim to make commerce part of the creator’s narrative, not just an afterthought.
Imagine you’re a beauty creator. You talk about a lipstick in your video—on cue, a product tag appears right when your words land.
Viewers can tap and shop without leaving the video. That’s the experience YouTube is now rolling out across its creator community in India.
From manual tags to AI-aware videos
Until now, creators had to manually tag products in their videos or link them in descriptions. But generative AI is changing that. With the new update, YouTube’s system can automatically display product tags at the precise moment a creator mentions a product.
Later this year, YouTube plans to test an even bolder feature: automatic detection and tagging of all eligible products mentioned in a video, without creator intervention.
In addition, YouTube is rolling out brand-segment flexibility: creators can now insert or swap out sponsor segments more fluidly. For Shorts, they can include direct links to brand websites. A Creator Partnerships Hub in Google Ads will help brands discover creators and run authentic content-led campaigns.
India’s shopping surge and creator economy
The timing is hardly a coincidence. YouTube says that in India, shopping-related watch time has increased by over 250 per cent year-on-year, with 200+ million logged-in users conducting shopping searches on the platform.
To deepen its footprint, YouTube is bringing Nykaa and Purplle on board as new merchant partners in the affiliate program, in addition to existing ones like Flipkart and Myntra. This adds more depth in beauty, wellness, and lifestyle to the products creators can tag.
YouTube also claims that 89 per cent of beauty shoppers in India say the platform helps them make confident purchasing decisions.
On the creators’ side, over 40 per cent of eligible Indian creators have already enrolled in the shopping affiliate program, and more than 3 million videos have product tags.
Putting all of this together, YouTube is positioning itself as more than just a video host — it wants to be the backbone of content-driven commerce in India.
Ease, risk and control
For creators, the appeal is obvious: less friction in tagging, more possibility to monetize. But this also raises questions:
Accuracy & oversight: If AI mis-tags or 'suggests' the wrong product, will creators be able to correct it? YouTube hasn’t given full clarity yet.
Control over sponsorships: The flexibility to swap brand segments is attractive, but creators will need safeguards to ensure their voice and integrity aren’t compromised.
AI vs human trust: Viewers might be skeptical if product tags feel overly automated or intrusive. The balance between helpful and pushy will matter.
YouTube acknowledges these challenges. In a press briefing, it said that the AI tagging system is still under trial and will evolve.
India is a proving ground, but the implications stretch far beyond. As creator-led commerce gains traction, platforms will compete to own not just views—but transactions.
YouTube is intentionally not using its flagship Gemini AI for this tool (for reasons not fully disclosed).
And while third-party AI agents (e.g., conversational bots or shopping assistants) are gaining popularity, YouTube says it’s unlikely to allow external bots to “interact with or make automated purchases” via its videos—at least for now.
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