YouTube to Improve Mid-Roll Ad Quality Starting May 12, 2025

Enhancing the Viewer Experience

YouTube has announced a new plan to enhance the quality of mid-roll ads, set to take effect on May 12, 2025. The platform aims to make ads less disruptive by moving them to more “natural break points” in videos. This change will prevent ads from interrupting sentences or action scenes, instead placing them during pauses or transitions to create a smoother viewing experience.

Automatic Updates to Older Videos

As part of this initiative, YouTube will update older videos released before February 24, 2025. Videos with manually placed mid-roll ads will have automatic ad slots repositioned at natural break points. However, content creators will have the option to opt out of these updates by navigating to the Earn tab in YouTube Studio.

Potential Revenue Increase for Creators

For video creators, these adjustments could lead to higher earnings. A YouTube test conducted in July 2024 revealed that channels using a combination of manual and automatic mid-roll ads saw a 5% increase in ad revenue. This suggests that optimizing ad placement could result in better monetization opportunities.

Introduction of the “Feedback in YouTube Studio” Tool

In addition to improving ad placement, YouTube is launching a new feature called “Feedback in YouTube Studio” this week. This tool will notify creators if their manually placed ads are considered too disruptive, enabling them to make necessary adjustments. By refining ad positioning, creators can improve the viewer experience while maximizing revenue.

With these updates, YouTube aims to balance effective advertising with a more seamless viewing experience, benefiting both audiences and content creators alike.