Skipping annoying YouTube ads just got easier with this new feature
YouTube is striving to improve the user experience, especially with regard to advertisements that have long been a source of annoyance for many viewers (YouTube ads). Recently, YouTube began testing a promising new feature that may radically change the way mini-ads (Mid-Roll Ads) are displayed within long videos (more than 8 minutes).
What is the advantage of YouTube PIP ads?
According to YouTube's experimental features page, the new feature currently being tested will give creators the option to play mid-roll YouTube ads inside a picture-in-picture (PIP) window while their content is playing on YouTube. YouTube has yet to detail how this new form of YouTube advertising will work, but it's likely that either the creator's content will be displayed in a mini-window with the ad taking over the main video player, or vice versa.
YouTube's goal of in-video ads
YouTube aims to provide a less annoying experience for viewers when YouTube thumbnail ads appear, and YouTube also allows creators to access the option to play YouTube thumbnail ads within a mini window through the “Monetization” settings in the live broadcast control room.
Who will get the YouTube in-video thumbnail feature?
YouTube says that “some viewers on certain devices” will be testing the new “picture-in-picture” ad feature in the coming months. Users on mobile and desktop will be able to try out the new feature in the near future. Likewise, YouTube creators will be able to access the option to play YouTube ads (YouTube Ads) within a miniature window at around the same time.
Will YouTube's in-video thumbnails replace ad blockers?
Certainly, less obtrusive ads would be a step up from the current mini-ads that completely interrupt the content, and more importantly, this alternative approach could be seen as a way to make YouTube's strict stance on ads more acceptable.
Earlier, YouTube started taking strict action against users who use ad blockers by cutting off video streaming if the site detects the plugin.
The future of YouTube ads
YouTube’s efforts don’t stop there. Earlier this summer, the platform was seen testing server-side ads. These ads appear as “injections” into the video stream rather than as a separate entity. Ad blockers typically work by identifying and hiding separate ads. With server-side ads, ad blockers will have a harder time detecting and blocking them.
Of course, the option to subscribe to YouTube Premium is always available, and it's likely the option that users are being directed towards, but we'll have to wait and see how the new, less annoying ad blocker feature works and whether it will be an acceptable solution for users.