The news: YouTube rolled out its most expansive livestreaming update yet, aiming to keep pace with TikTok and Twitch in real-time video. More than 30% of logged-in YouTube viewers watched live content in Q2 2025, according to the company, highlighting livestreaming’s growing role in its ecosystem.

Key changes include:

• Screen optimization: Creators can now simultaneously broadcast horizontally and vertically, with all viewers joining a single chat.
• Creation and monetization: AI-generated highlights turn live moments into Shorts automatically, while new side-by-side ads let brands appear without interrupting streams. Creators can also toggle between public and members-only content midstream, creating smoother paths to exclusivity and revenues.
• Interactive tools: YouTube Playables—minigames like Angry Birds Showdown—will be integrated into Live, giving creators and fans an easy way to engage with each other. A vertical livestreaming experiment lets creators react in real time to events and other streams, echoing TikTok Live’s mobile-first appeal.

YouTube launched the new features at the same time it announced new AI editing features for Shorts.

Why it matters: Livestreaming is no longer niche—it’s a mainstream behavior. Twenty-two percent of B2C marketers and 17% of B2B marketers already use livestreaming as part of their content mix, per HubSpot. And an EMARKETER/impact.com survey found livestream shopping has influenced purchases for 11% of global social +shoppers, suggesting the format can move beyond entertainment to commerce—though it lags far behind China’s adoption.

YouTube’s updates make the platform stickier for both creators and audiences, ensuring live content can be interactive, optimized for any device, and monetized without friction. By leaning into AI clipping and repurposing, YouTube is also connecting livestreaming to its Shorts ecosystem—keeping pace with TikTok while giving advertisers new ways to reach engaged viewers.

Our take: Live formats are becoming core to YouTube’s long-term growth.

Adding games, dual-screen formats, and AI repurposing makes livestreaming easier for creators and more appealing to users, many of whom are interested in live streams (see chart).

For marketers, this raises the stakes: live events on YouTube aren’t just about engagement anymore—they’re edging closer to direct sales and premium ad opportunities. As TikTok and Twitch push deeper into commerce and community, YouTube is betting that its blend of scale and monetization will make it the go-to hub for live video globally.