YouTube says it has a strong growth trajectory in Southeast Asia, with 7,600 channels in the region claiming at least 1 million subscribers each.
This growth has been driving creator-led marketing and video commerce in the region, said the company.
Video commerce accounts for 20% of the e-commerce gross merchandise value in Southeast Asia, a four-fold increase over the last two years, according to YouTube.
“After 20 years, YouTube is moving faster than ever,” said Sapna Chadha, vice-president for Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier at Google, the owner of YouTube.
She said YouTube is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance user experiences through personalised recommendations and deep content analysis.
"This technology is already benefiting creators, brands and viewers alike. The future of content creation and advertising fuelled by AI isn't coming in the future. We're already living it,” said Ms Chadha.
The platform's scale is staggering, with more than 20 million videos uploaded around the world every day, while YouTube Shorts are watched by 2 billion users each month.
Viewers watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on average every day, while 3.5 billion people watch YouTube every month.
YouTube reached 290 million viewers in Southeast Asia last year, representing 85% of the online population in the region.
“Southeast Asians love video content, and this is a flourishing epicentre of digital growth,” she said.
Roughly 1,300 Thailand-based YouTube channels have more than 1 million subscribers each. The number of channels in the region with more than 100,000 subscribers tallies 77,000.
“YouTube's growth in Southeast Asia is a testament to the platform's adaptability and the region's digital dynamism. As AI continues to enhance user experiences and creators drive engagement, the future of video commerce and digital advertising looks brighter than ever,” said Ms Chadha.
A Kantar study found 85% of viewers in Thailand and 67% in Indonesia consider YouTube creator content to be trustworthy.
Ms Chadha said users are 98% more likely to trust the recommendations of creators on YouTube compared with those on other social sites or apps.
“This trust translates into purchase confidence, with YouTube driving almost four times greater purchase intent than other social media platforms in the region,” said Ms Chadha.
Gen Z actively consumes content on YouTube and uses the platform to navigate and share major life transitions. Many Shorts users avoid Instagram Reels completely, and 66% are not using Reels in Thailand.
Creators on YouTube can significantly drive consideration for products. Two in five consumers in this region rely on online videos for product research, with YouTube being the preferred choice for 86% of them.
To drive this further, YouTube Shopping has now launched in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines in partnership with Shopee.
YouTube Shopping lets creators easily promote products from their own stores or other brands.
Top creators across the region are joining the affiliate programme, with millions of videos already tagged.
For instance, in the first three countries where it launched (Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand), an average of 55% of eligible creators have already enrolled in YouTube Shopping.
In a related matter, Lazada has announced a US$100 million investment in its affiliate programme across Southeast Asia.
Ms Chadha said YouTube continues to innovate to improve the experience on internet-connected TV (CTV).
Globally, viewers are watching, on average, over 1 billion hours of YouTube content on TVs every day.
In Southeast Asia, YouTube on CTV is reaching over 79 million people.
With CTV, new advertising formats let viewers use QR codes for shopping on TV.
