YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said the Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOG video platform is continuing to lean on creators, subscriptions, connected TV and artificial intelligence as the core drivers of its business, while emphasizing that the company’s overall strategy has remained consistent even as the media industry changes rapidly.
Speaking at a conference appearance that included a safe-harbor statement on forward-looking comments, Mohan described YouTube’s business as a “flywheel” that starts with creators, attracts viewers and ultimately supports monetization through advertising and subscriptions.
“Everything starts” with creators, Mohan said, adding that YouTube aims to help them build businesses, reach global audiences and reduce barriers such as language through tools including AI-powered multi-audio dubbing and multitrack audio.
Creators Remain Central to YouTube’s Strategy
Mohan said YouTube’s creator base is expanding in two directions: established media figures are increasingly building YouTube channels, while native YouTube creators are moving into larger media and business opportunities.
He cited athletes Dwyane Wade and Draymond Green, along with Trevor Noah and Oprah, as examples of non-endemic creators looking to become YouTubers. He also pointed to creator Markiplier, who self-funded a film and used his YouTube audience to support its theatrical release. According to Mohan, the film opened in thousands of theaters and was the top-grossing movie on its release weekend.
Mohan said creators continue to view YouTube as their home, even when success on the platform leads to opportunities elsewhere. He referenced MrBeast and said the creator’s business activities, including Feastables and “Beast Games,” are rooted in his YouTube presence.
Over the past four years, Mohan said YouTube has paid more than $100 billion to the creator economy across its partners. He added that 3 million creators are in the YouTube Partner Program and monetize on the platform through advertising, subscriptions and direct fan-funding tools such as channel memberships, paid digital goods and gifting.
Subscriptions and YouTube TV Growth
Mohan said YouTube has made long-term bets in subscriptions, including YouTube Music and Premium, which had more than 125 million subscribers as of last year, and YouTube TV. He said the most recent first quarter was YouTube Premium’s strongest quarter ever for non-trial subscriber additions globally and in the U.S.
He said growth in subscriptions has been driven by product innovation and consumer choice. On YouTube TV, Mohan highlighted features such as Multiview and key plays. For YouTube Premium, he pointed to Premium Lite as a lower-priced option. He also said YouTube TV recently launched 10 tiers, including sports, sports plus news and entertainment bundles.
Asked about recent price increases, Mohan said YouTube raised the price of Premium for the first time in three years. He said the company evaluates whether it is delivering user value through metrics such as acquisition, churn and user surveys. Mohan also said YouTube must account for payments to partners, including traditional media companies and music labels.
“If you’re not delivering that value, you don’t have a right to raise prices,” Mohan said.
AI Tools Expand Across Creation, Discovery and Advertising
Mohan said YouTube has a “unique vantage point” in AI because it works closely with Google DeepMind while also facing creators and media companies every day. He described AI as a way to empower human creativity rather than replace it.
On the creator side, Mohan said YouTube is using Gemini, Veo and other AI models in creation tools accessible through the YouTube app. He said AI can make tasks that previously took days happen in less than a minute, potentially broadening the pool of creators.
He also highlighted Ask Studio, a tool inside YouTube Studio that allows creators to ask questions and receive insights about video and channel trends. For viewers, Mohan discussed an “Ask” feature that lets users interact more deeply with videos. He said the feature had 75 million regular users in April.
For advertisers, Mohan said AI can help generate creative for Shorts or long-form YouTube videos and optimize campaigns to improve return on investment.
Asked about AI-created music, Mohan said music has long incorporated new technologies and that AI should be viewed as another tool for artists. He also said YouTube is working on likeness detection, applying principles similar to Content ID so artists can control how AI-generated versions of their singing voices are used, including whether to monetize or remove them.
Managing AI-Generated Low-Quality Content
Mohan acknowledged that lower production costs from AI could increase low-quality or spammy content, sometimes referred to as “AI slop.” He said YouTube has long dealt with low-quality content through policies, trust and safety systems and recommendation systems.
He said YouTube’s recommendation systems focus on long-term user satisfaction, not just near-term watch time, and that those techniques are being applied to low-quality AI-generated content.
At the same time, Mohan cautioned against suppressing emerging forms of creativity too aggressively. He cited livestreams of people playing Minecraft as an example of a format that may once have seemed unusual but became a major YouTube category.
Connected TV, Shorts and Live Events
Mohan said YouTube’s living-room business has become one of its major long-term successes. He said more than 50% of YouTube watch time in the U.S. occurs on TV screens, with 200 million hours of daily watch time in the U.S. living room and more than 1 billion hours globally each day on living-room devices.
He said most of the content watched on YouTube in the living room comes from creators, and that connected-TV usage spans demographics. Shorts is also growing on TV screens, even though Mohan described it as a mobile-first experience.
On Shorts monetization, Mohan said YouTube has reached revenue-per-thousand-impressions parity with other formats in the U.S. and several other countries, and has exceeded parity in some markets, including the U.S. He said YouTube is experimenting with less interruptive ad formats and shopping stickers, and that more than 500,000 creators have tagged their videos with shopping features.
Mohan also discussed live events, including YouTube’s NFL game, Coachella streams and the Oscars planned for 2029. He said live events create cultural “watercooler moments” and can be amplified by YouTube’s creators, Shorts and related video content. He pointed to Sunday Ticket as an example of expanding access by removing the need for satellite installation, and to Multiview as an example of product innovation for both sports and Coachella.
Asked whether YouTube could become a broader aggregator of premium content, Mohan said the platform’s goal is to offer everything from short creator videos to live streams, NFL games and professionally produced content. He said YouTube TV and Primetime Channels were developed to address gaps in the broader viewing experience.
About Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOG
Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.
Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.
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