If you start YouTube via a desktop browser, the video platform still displays the so-called overlay ads. As the name suggests, the ads appear above the video at the bottom. The ads are somewhat annoying, which even the YouTube team themselves have now confirmed. Therefore, they will now be switched off soon.
Starting April 6th, the YouTube overlay ads will no longer be displayed to users. The ads will also no longer be available as an option in YouTube Studio. However, YouTube expects it will have a limited impact for most creators as those ads will be replaced with “other ad formats”, as you might expect.
The ads used to appear on mobile as well, but they were removed a while ago, which didn’t bother any users. However, it’s not clear what will replace those ads on desktop. Pre-, mid- and post-roll ads will probably be the focus. See the YouTube Help post linked below for more details. There you can already see the three new ad formats that will replace the YouTube overlay ads after April 6th.
