TL;DR
- YouTube announced brand-deal and shopping tools at Made On YouTube on 23 September 2026, in posts by Amjad Hanif, Travis Katz and Johanna Voolich.
- YouTube Creator Partnerships is now in 20 countries, and a one-click code lets brands view a partnered video's performance and boost it with paid media.
- YouTube says its Shopping affiliate programme has 1.3 million+ creators, grew GMV 13x in two years and will reach 35 countries by the end of 2026; Thailand already has it, per Social Media Today.
- Ask YouTube will show comparison tables for product review searches, but YouTube gave no rollout timing, markets or data source for the shopping features.
YouTube used its Made On YouTube event on 23 September 2026 to announce a package of brand-partnership and shopping tools: a pitch assistant inside YouTube Studio, YouTube Creator Partnerships in 20 countries, a one-click code that gives brands access to a creator's video performance, an affiliate programme that YouTube says will reach 35 countries by the end of 2026, localised product tags for cross-border viewers, and shopping answers inside Ask YouTube. For advertisers, the practical change is that more of the creator deal, from brief to paid boost, now runs through YouTube's own tools, and more of the product research journey happens inside YouTube before anyone reaches a store.
The announcements came in a post on the official YouTube blog by Amjad Hanif, YouTube's vice president of creator products, and Travis Katz, its general manager and vice president for shopping, with a separate viewer-features post by Johanna Voolich, vice president of product management for viewer products. This article sets out what was announced, what was left unsaid, and what a brand buying YouTube media in Thailand should check before planning Q4 and early 2027 activity.
What YouTube announced for brand partnerships
YouTube framed the brand-deal changes as a way to cut the administrative work between a brief and a signed deal. Four items matter to the advertiser side of the table.
Ask Studio drafts pitches and brief responses
YouTube said creators will "soon" be able to use Ask Studio, its AI assistant inside YouTube Studio, to draft responses to brand briefs, build proactive pitches and get suggestions for adjusting their media kit to a specific brand's goals. No date was given. For a brand team, this means the first reply to a brief may increasingly be machine-assisted. That is not a reason to distrust it, but it is a reason to ask for channel data that can be verified rather than relying on the prose of a pitch.
YouTube Creator Partnerships in 20 countries
YouTube said its Creator Partnerships product, where brands can find channels and manage collaborations, is now available in 20 countries. The post did not list the countries, so it does not confirm whether Thailand is one of them. Advertisers should check inside their own Google Ads or YouTube account rather than assume availability.
One-click partner access and creator partnerships boost
Once a creator has posted a brand partnership video, YouTube said they can share "brand partner access" with a one-click code. That lets the brand view the video's performance and put paid media behind it with creator partnerships boost. The mechanism matters because the most common friction in creator deals is reporting: brands receive screenshots, creators are reluctant to hand over channel access, and the paid amplification step is run separately. A code-based access model makes first-party performance data part of the deal by default.
Dynamic brand segments across up to 20 videos
YouTube said it is continuing to test dynamic brand segments, which let a creator insert a sponsored segment into up to 20 long-form videos at the same time, target the segment by region and add a built-in shelf with a call-to-action button. Because this is described as a test, access is not guaranteed. The idea is familiar from podcast advertising, where dynamically inserted reads let an advertiser reach a back catalogue rather than only new uploads.
The post also said YouTube is investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" in incentives to agency partners to reward high-impact collaborations. It did not describe the eligibility rules or the markets covered.
What changed in YouTube Shopping
The shopping half of the announcement centres on the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme, where creators tag products in videos, Shorts and livestreams and earn commission on resulting sales.
- Scale claims. YouTube said more than 1.3 million creators are in the affiliate programme and that it has driven 13 times growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV) over the last two years. It also cited "a recent study" finding that Shopping tags drive more than twice as many clicks as links in the description. YouTube did not publish the study's method, so treat the figure as YouTube's own claim.
- 35 countries by year end. YouTube said it will expand the affiliate programme to 35 countries by the end of the year. Social Media Today, reporting on the same event, listed the programme's current markets as the U.S., the U.K., Thailand and India.
- Amazon tagging expands. Tagging Amazon products, which YouTube recently announced for the U.S., is expanding to India and Brazil "in the coming weeks" and to more countries before the end of the year.
- Localised tags. For creators with international audiences, tags will now show a link localised for the viewer, while the creator still earns commission on those sales.
- Affiliate campaigns. Retailers and brands will be able to offer incentives such as exclusive commission rates or bonuses when creators make content featuring specific products.
Shopping answers inside Ask YouTube
In the viewer-features post, Voolich said YouTube is adding shopping capabilities to Ask YouTube, its conversational search feature. When someone searches for reviews of a specific product, they "may receive" organised video recommendations, such as a comparison table with product attributes and categories based on their preferences. After choosing a video, they can keep asking questions about the product on that video's watch page. Voice questions work on TV.
Search Engine Journal added context the post itself did not. According to its report, the search version of Ask YouTube is still an experiment available to a limited number of U.S. users searching in English, while the watch-page version is listed in dozens of countries and languages for signed-in users aged 13 and over. SEJ also noted that Sundar Pichai said on Alphabet's Q2 call that more than 140 million users engaged with Ask YouTube on the watch page in June. It pointed out that YouTube gave no rollout timing, geography or eligibility for the shopping features, and did not say where the product attribute data in the comparison tables comes from.
The announcements at a glance
The table below lists what YouTube stated on 23 September and what it did not specify, so planning can separate confirmed items from open questions.
| Announcement | What YouTube stated | Not specified |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Studio for brand deals | Drafts brief responses, pitches and media-kit tips "soon" | Launch date, markets |
| YouTube Creator Partnerships | Available in 20 countries; one-click partner access code; boost with paid media | Country list |
| Dynamic brand segments | Still testing; up to 20 long-form videos at once, regional targeting, CTA shelf | Who can use it, pricing |
| Shopping affiliate programme | 1.3m+ creators, 13x GMV in two years, 35 countries by end of 2026 | Which new countries |
| Ask YouTube shopping | Comparison tables for product review searches, follow-up questions on the watch page | Rollout timing, geography, data source |
What the announcements did not say
Several things a media planner would want to know are missing from both posts, and they are worth stating plainly rather than filling in by assumption.
- No country lists. Neither the 20 Creator Partnerships countries nor the 35 affiliate countries were named.
- No ad-product change. Nothing in the posts changes YouTube ad formats, bidding or targeting in Google Ads. The creator partnerships boost is the only paid-media element, and it builds on an existing product.
- No detail on how Ask YouTube picks videos for product queries. SEJ noted that the search help page says ranking "prioritizes relevance, engagement, and quality", similar to regular search, but nothing more specific for shopping.
- No independent data behind the click and GMV figures. The 2x click claim and the 13x GMV growth come from YouTube.
How this connects to earlier YouTube commerce changes
This is the latest step in a thread Relevant Audience has followed through 2026. In August, YouTube opened its Shopping affiliate programme to UK creators and later let creators tag Amazon products for commission. Thailand already had the affiliate programme at that point, which is why the Amazon expansion headline read differently for Thai brands. In mid-September, Google's holiday commerce update added Business Agent in YouTube ads as a beta. The Made On announcements continue the same direction: YouTube wants product discovery, creator persuasion and the transaction link to sit in one place, with Google's own tools handling measurement.
There is also a search angle. Ask YouTube returning comparison tables for product reviews means a creator's review can be surfaced by an AI feature before the viewer ever sees a search results page. That makes the structure of review videos (clear product names, chapters, spoken attributes) more important for discoverability, which overlaps with the work brands already do for AI search visibility.
What advertisers should check now
- Confirm availability in your account. Check whether YouTube Creator Partnerships and creator partnerships boost appear in your Google Ads account for Thailand before building them into a plan.
- Write partner access into creator contracts. If the one-click access code is available, make sharing it a contract term so performance reporting comes from YouTube, not screenshots.
- Review affiliate economics. If you sell through retailers whose products creators can tag, ask the retailer whether affiliate campaigns with boosted commission rates will be offered to brands, and how commission is split.
- Audit your product review footprint on YouTube. Search your main product names on YouTube and note which creator reviews appear. When Ask YouTube shopping reaches your market, those videos are the likely inputs to any comparison table.
- Keep product naming consistent. Comparison tables group by product attributes. If your product names differ between your website, marketplace listings and creator videos, it becomes harder for any system to match them.
Paid support for creator content still runs best when it is planned alongside your other YouTube advertising, so that boosted creator videos and brand-made ads do not compete for the same audience at the same time.
What this means for Thai marketers
Thailand is one of the few markets where the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme already runs, according to Social Media Today's report on the event, so Thai brands are less exposed to waiting than brands in markets still on the 35-country list. The open question is timing for the rest: Creator Partnerships country coverage and Ask YouTube shopping were not given dates or markets. Thai ecommerce teams that already work with creators on Shopee and Lazada should treat YouTube affiliate tags as another channel to measure, and check whether localised tags change which store link a Thai viewer sees on a creator video made abroad. If your ecommerce marketing plan already allocates budget to creators, the partner access code is the change most likely to improve reporting quality in the short term.
Frequently asked questions
When was Made On YouTube 2026 held?
YouTube published its Made On YouTube announcements on 23 September 2026. The brand partnership and shopping updates came in a post by Amjad Hanif and Travis Katz, and the viewer features, including Ask YouTube shopping, in a post by Johanna Voolich.
Is the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme available in Thailand?
Yes, according to Social Media Today, which listed the programme's current markets as the U.S., the U.K., Thailand and India. YouTube's own post said only that the programme will reach 35 countries by the end of 2026 and did not list them.
Do advertisers have to change anything in Google Ads?
No change is required, because the posts announced no change to YouTube ad formats, bidding or targeting. The relevant new option for advertisers is creator partnerships boost combined with the partner access code, which is worth checking in your account.
Is Ask YouTube shopping live in Thailand?
The source does not say. YouTube gave no timing or geography for the shopping features, and Search Engine Journal reported that the search version of Ask YouTube is still limited to some U.S. users searching in English.
What are dynamic brand segments?
Dynamic brand segments are a feature YouTube says it is still testing, which lets a creator insert a sponsored segment into up to 20 long-form videos at once, target it by region and attach a shelf with a call-to-action button. YouTube has not said who can use it or when it will be widely available.
Where this leaves brands
Made On 2026 did not change how YouTube ads are bought, but it moved more of the creator deal and the product research journey onto YouTube's own tools. For Thai brands, the affiliate programme is already here, the reporting improvements are worth adopting as soon as they appear in your account, and the AI shopping features are worth preparing for without assuming a launch date. If you want help planning creator content and paid amplification together, Relevant Audience's YouTube team can review your current setup.
