"Standard ad units on YouTube are labeled as such and, as a result, LLMs steer clear of them. But creators aren't required to disclose their paid brand partnerships in video metadata, so AI considers them to be worthy sources. BrightEdge's research shows that YouTube is cited even more frequently than Reddit within Gemini and ChatGPT, and also shows up in 29.5% of Google AI Overviews."
"Video scripts can be a means of altering [brands'] share of model, and of analyzing rivals. Jessica Finch, head of SEO at Brainlabs, advises that brands should focus on incorporating natural language into their video scripts and metadata and also benchmark their content against competitors."
"OpenAI's inference costs (as in, the ongoing costs of existing models) quadrupled in 2025, reaching $8.6 billion, due to increased demand that prompted the company to buy more servers. So perhaps it's no surprise that the AI behemoth saw its margins decrease, even as its user base grew."
YouTube content appears frequently in AI model outputs and Google AI Overviews, with studies showing it cited more than Reddit in Gemini and ChatGPT, and appearing in up to 60% of AI Overviews. Unlike labeled ads, undisclosed brand partnerships aren't filtered by AI systems, making them valuable sources. Creators can optimize earnings by incorporating natural language into video scripts and metadata. Meanwhile, AI companies face mounting infrastructure costs: OpenAI's inference costs quadrupled to $8.6 billion in 2025, while Anthropic's tripled. These expenses have compressed margins despite growing user bases, prompting OpenAI to introduce advertising as a revenue solution.
#creator-economy-monetization #ai-model-training-costs #youtube-seo-optimization #brand-partnerships-and-disclosure #ai-infrastructure-economics
Read at AdExchanger
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]