The future of video is on YouTube: 3 ways to win in 2026
If you want proof the video landscape has transformed, consider this: A Kantar survey that 69% of viewers say they’d now rather watch a video than read text or listen to audio to learn a new skill.1
Whether they’re learning something new, making a decision, or going deep on a new discovery, consumers are choosing video. This video landscape shift means that video is not only the preferred medium for entertainment but also for commerce and learning.
Increasingly, video is everywhere and everything is video. For advertisers, this means the legacy video playbook is obsolete. To win in 2026, add three essentials to your planning checklist.
Essential 1: Plan fluidly for a fluid consumer journey
If the preference for creator content and video everywhere, every way feels like part of a bigger shift, it’s because they are. A Google-commissioned Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis of the behaviors of 10,000 U.S. shoppers that today’s journeys don’t follow a linear funnel. Instead they are fragmented across four overlapping behaviors: streaming, scrolling, searching, and shopping.
A shift in consumer behavior demands a shift in how we plan media. The traditional, rigid model of media planning built around annual planning, siloed execution, and legacy measurement is obsolete. The goal is no longer just to buy impressions that fill the funnel but to earn attention, build relevance, and establish trust. Embrace that uses AI to customize your media strategy, connect with audiences throughout their fluid journeys, and optimize your investments based on outcomes.
To empower marketers to turn this dynamic range of unique consumer journeys into real opportunity, YouTube also offers powerful AI solutions like , which help you capture engagement across every screen and format — from the living room TV to the mobile feed. These AI-powered solutions drive tangible outcomes, with advertisers using Demand Gen seeing a 26% year-over-year increase in conversions on average.2
Essential 2: Make creators your go-to
Creators sit at the center of this video-first universe. Eighty-three percent of Gen Z viewers now prefer content from their favorite creators over studio-produced shows.3 This isn’t an emerging trend. It’s the new reality of video. They’re the “startups of Hollywood,” as YouTube CEO Neal Mohan . As creators build their communities, they’re leading the biggest cultural conversations and building communities of passionate fans. Beyond aligning your brand with their content through ads, creators can be your go-to partners for on-brand, scalable content creation.
Audiences increasingly prefer content from creators that breaks through the noise, speaks to their specific interests, and feels authentic. For their fans, creators are more than stars. They’re trusted advisors. And YouTube is the go-to for those sought after points of view, with 82% of U.S. viewers saying the platform has the most trusted creators.4
Consumers make more confident decisions faster on YouTube.
Creators not only put your brand at the epicenter of culture, they streamline the consumer journey. A survey by Material found YouTube cuts down the average online U.S. video shopper’s journey by six days.5 That means consumers make more confident decisions, faster on YouTube. This shortened path to purchase creates a “” for brands, adding up to more sales, more efficiently. On YouTube, you can partner with creators to reach their fans through long form, Shorts, live, and everything in between.
And there’s always something for passionate fans to discover on YouTube, because the content scales along with their appetite for it. Over the past four years, YouTube has paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies globally.6
Essential 3: Think like your audience. Think YouTube first
Your audience is now video-first and creator-first, and follows a nonlinear path to purchase. Naturally, that means they’re on YouTube.
YouTube is 1.6X more likely to positively influence purchase decisions compared with social platforms.
In these new nonlinear journeys, the currencies that matter most are attention, relevance, and trust. While some platforms slant toward attention, relevance, or trust, YouTube stands out by excelling in all three. In the BCG analysis, shoppers reported that on YouTube they are 1.5X more likely to pay attention to content compared with social platforms, that the content is 1.7X more relevant, and that it is more than twice as trustworthy.7
This makes YouTube significantly more impactful, with shoppers saying YouTube is 1.7X more likely to positively influence brand consideration and 1.6X more likely to positively influence purchase decisions compared with social platforms.8 Consider this potential across the over 35 billion hours of shopping-related content watched on YouTube in the past year.9
By adopting a creator-centric, dynamic video playbook that prioritizes YouTube and invests in creative readiness, you can align yourself with the new preferences of audiences, the mechanics of decision-making, and the . This will position your brand to create new strategic advantages, turn viewing into action, and drive results in 2026 and beyond.
