YouTube is revamping its mid-roll ad placement strategy to create a less disruptive viewing experience while potentially boosting earnings for creators. The platform will implement these changes starting May 12, 2025, shifting ad placements to natural breakpoints in videos rather than jarring interruptions mid-sentence or mid-action.
According to YouTube, this shift is designed to reduce mid-roll ads in interruptive slots, such as those cutting off dialogue, and instead place them at pauses or scene transitions. “We believe showing fewer interruptive ads will result in more views and increase overall revenue opportunity for creators,” Google said in a blog post announcing the update.
What will happen to old videos?
To help creators adapt, YouTube will also automatically adjust mid-roll ads in older videos—specifically those uploaded before February 24, 2025—by inserting ad slots at more seamless points. Creators who prefer full control over their ad placements can opt out in YouTube Studio before the May 12 rollout. The platform has also introduced a mid-roll quality feedback feature, which will highlight interruptive ad slots in red, allowing creators to adjust placements to natural breakpoints.
YouTube will help creators
YouTube is encouraging creators to consider a mix of manual and automatic mid-roll ads. The company states that those who use both methods see an average of over 5% more ad revenue compared to those relying solely on manual placements. To assist with this, YouTube has introduced a new tool that will warn creators if their manual mid-rolls disrupt the viewing experience, offering suggestions for better ad positioning.
YouTube maintains that creators will still have control over their ad placements, but the default setting will favour automated ad slots to ensure better ad positioning. Those who already structure their content with built-in natural ad breaks may prefer to continue manually managing ad slots.
With these changes, YouTube claims to strike a balance in improving viewers’ experience without sacrificing the monetisation model. Will this approach finally resolve frustration around mid-roll ads? Creators and viewers will soon find out.