Metro consumers find creators more trustworthy than celebrities

Ajay Vidyasagar, MD, YouTube, Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets in an email interview to Nabodita Ganguly talks about the hyperlocalisation of content. Edited excerpts

- Nabodita Ganguly

How do you see the future of the creator economy in India?

The creator economy originated on YouTube and today, YouTube is truly home to India's sizable creative entrepreneur community. Over 1,10,000 channels, in India, have more than 1,00,000 subscribers as of December 2023. In fact, a staggering 93% Gen Z fans in India use YouTube to engage with the person or thing they're a fan of at least weekly.

In 2023 alone, our creative ecosystem contributed over Rs 16,000 crore to India's GDP and fuelled over 9,00,000 full-time equivalent jobs. YouTube's burgeoning Indian creator economy is reshaping content creation, fostering entrepreneurship and creating new livelihoods.

How does Gen Z’s content consumption differ from millennials and older demographics?

Today, when people go home and sit on their couch to ‘turn on the TV’, they're turning on YouTube. This is especially true for this new generation, who watch far less cable and linear TV, and far more creator content.

Gen Z also is a generation that grew up with smartphones and tablets, so we continue to invest in our mobile-creation tools. The gen AI tools being built today will empower the next generation of storytellers.

According to research by Google/SmithGeiger, in India 77% of Gen-Z fans are part of a fandom with a “name”. YouTube has made it easier than ever to find your tribe, no matter how niche your interest.

What are some of the innovations YouTube has rolled out?