YouTube, the place where millions gather every day to watch videos, share moments, and connect with creators and communities in real time.
The platform from Google has long served as one of the internet’s most vibrant hubs for live interaction. From gaming marathons and music concerts to news broadcasts and casual conversations, live streaming on the platform has grown into a major format that blends immediacy with global reach.
Building on top of those facts, CEO Neal Mohan announced a fresh set of updates designed to make these live experiences smoother, more flexible, and better suited to how people actually watch and participate today.
These changes focus on three main areas: enhancing creator monetization through virtual gifts, improving ad handling during peak moments, and introducing tools for broadcasting in multiple formats simultaneously.
The updates reflect YouTube’s recognition that live content operates differently from pre-recorded videos and requires its own dedicated improvements to support both creators and audiences.
Live streaming is a massive part of YouTube, and that’s because of the @youtubecreators who build incredible communities on our platform.
We’re rolling out some major updates to YouTube Live to improve the experience and help creators make more money:
We're expanding Gifts to… pic.twitter.com/zu5J0Qq4kP— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) April 13, 2026
One of the most noticeable expansions involves the Gifts feature.
Viewers can now send virtual gifts during horizontal live streams on mobile devices, in addition to the vertical format where the option was first introduced.
The feature is also becoming available to more creators and viewers in additional countries, including Canada, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. YouTube plans to roll out localized gifts that tie into regional holidays and cultural events in these markets.
gifts are expanding to horizontal live streams! your community can now purchase Jewels and send gifts across all live formats on the YouTube mobile app, meaning you can earn more from your streams. learn more: https://t.co/R0SitCHspv
— YouTube Creators (@YouTubeCreators) April 13, 2026
In another practical adjustment, the platform will now automatically detect surges in live chat activity and temporarily hold back ads for everyone watching at that moment.
The goal is to protect the natural flow of conversation when engagement is at its highest. This change complements the existing benefits for fans who send Super Chat, Super Stickers, or Gifts, who already receive short ad-free windows as a thank-you for their support.
YouTube is also enabling creators to stream in both vertical and horizontal formats at the same time from a single broadcast.
All viewers, whether they're on phones, tablets, or connected TVs, join the same shared live chat, keeping the community connected regardless of screen orientation.
This is particularly relevant given that more than 30% of live watch time in the U.S> now comes from connected TVs.
Upcoming tools will include improved vertical cropping options in YouTube’s Live Studio and support for multiple stream keys, giving creators greater control over how they deliver content across different viewing experiences.
These features were outlined in detail in an official YouTube blog post that followed Mohan’s announcement.
While the company did not release specific performance metrics or exact global rollout timelines, the changes are already beginning to appear for eligible creators through their YouTube Studio settings. Overall, the updates represent a steady, incremental push to strengthen live streaming as a core part of the platform.