Google has introduced interactive comments on eligible YouTube Shorts ads and expanded Shorts advertising to the mobile web. The updates aim to provide brands with enhanced engagement tools during the holiday shopping season.

The comment feature allows brands to interact directly with audiences on Shorts ads, matching the experience of organic Shorts content. YouTube also enabled Shorts creators to link to brand websites within branded content, creating a direct path for viewers to explore advertiser sites.

“YouTube Shorts can help you get more from your short-form video strategy this holiday season,” the company stated in its announcement.

The mobile web expansion extends Shorts ads beyond the YouTube app to reach consumers across TV, web, desktop, and mobile devices.

A Kantar US Context Lab meta-analysis commissioned by Google in 2025 found that YouTube Creator Ads on Shorts increase purchase intent by 8.8% on average. The research showed these ads drive 2.9x more consumer intent to spend than competitors, based on Kantar campaign benchmarks for YouTube competitors.

Revenue Performance

During Alphabet’s Q3 2025 earnings call in November, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that YouTube Shorts now earns more revenue per watch hour than traditional in-stream videos in the United States. This milestone came as YouTube advertising revenues increased 15% year over year to $10.3 billion in Q3, with direct-response advertising leading growth.

Philipp Schindler, Google’s SVP and Chief Business Officer, noted the company uses AI to expand monetization by “automatically identifying products to make their videos more shoppable.”

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