How does YouTube work?
YouTube works by recommending videos to each viewer based on what they watch, search and engage with. Creators upload videos to a channel, add a title, description, chapters and a thumbnail, and YouTube then shows the video in search results, on the Home feed, next to other videos and in the Shorts feed. Viewers can watch for free with ads or pay for YouTube Premium to remove them.
The platform has three main content formats:
- Long-form videos: classic horizontal videos with no practical length limit for verified channels.
- Shorts: vertical videos for a swipeable feed, launched globally in beta on 13 July 2021.
- Live streams: real-time broadcasts with chat, often saved as regular videos afterwards.
History of YouTube: key dates
YouTube started as a small startup founded by three former PayPal employees and became one of Google’s biggest businesses.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 February 2005 | Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim found YouTube |
| 23 April 2005 | The first video, “Me at the zoo”, is uploaded |
| 13 November 2006 | Google completes the purchase of YouTube for 1.65 billion USD |
| 16 February 2023 | Neal Mohan replaces Susan Wojcicki as CEO |
| 4 February 2026 | Alphabet reports YouTube revenue above 60 billion USD for 2025 |
YouTube is headquartered in San Bruno, California. Its Q4 2025 ad revenue alone was 11.38 billion USD, up 8.7% year on year, according to Alphabet’s results.
YouTube users in numbers
YouTube reaches almost one in three people on Earth with its ads. DataReportal’s January 2025 data shows 2.53 billion users in ad reach, with men making up 54% of that audience. The largest markets are India (491 million), the United States (253 million) and Brazil (144 million). In Poland, the Digital 2026 report counts 27.1 million people reachable with YouTube ads, which is 79.4% of Polish internet users and more than any other social platform in the country.
Shorts drive much of the recent growth. At Cannes Lions in June 2025, CEO Neal Mohan said Shorts average 200 billion daily views, although YouTube counts every feed impression as a view.
YouTube in marketing, SEO and AI search
YouTube matters to marketers because it combines a search engine, a social network and an ad network in one place. The sections below cover each angle.
YouTube SEO
YouTube SEO means optimising titles, descriptions, chapters, captions and thumbnails so videos rank in YouTube search and in Google’s video results. YouTube is a search engine in its own right, and in my projects I research YouTube keywords separately for every country, because “how to” queries are phrased differently in each language.
YouTube ads
YouTube ads are bought in Google Ads. Google lists these video formats:
- Skippable in-stream ads: viewers can skip after 5 seconds.
- Non-skippable in-stream ads: 15 to 60 seconds, depending on campaign subtype.
- Bumper ads: non-skippable, up to 6 seconds.
- In-feed ads: a thumbnail in search results and the Home feed, charged on click or on a 10-second view.
- Shorts ads: shown between organic Shorts.
- Masthead: a reservation-only placement at the top of the Home feed.
Video campaigns also run inside Performance Max, and YouTube viewers make a strong remarketing audience. I set these up as part of Google Ads management.
YouTube and AI search
Google owns YouTube, so its videos often appear in AI Overviews and other AI answers for tutorials and product comparisons. Clear spoken explanations and accurate captions give these systems text to quote.
YouTube Shorts vs TikTok
| Feature | YouTube Shorts | TikTok |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Google (Alphabet) | ByteDance (US: joint venture) |
| Link to long video | Shorts can point to a full video on the same channel | Mostly short content only |
| Ad buying | Google Ads | TikTok Ads Manager |
| Visibility in Google | Strong, same company | Indexed, but less prominent |
For a full video plan alongside other channels, see my social media marketing services.
Frequently asked questions about YouTube
Who owns YouTube?
YouTube is owned by Google, part of Alphabet. Google bought it for 1.65 billion USD in a deal completed on 13 November 2006, and Neal Mohan has been YouTube's CEO since February 2023.
When was YouTube created?
YouTube was founded on 14 February 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. The first video, "Me at the zoo", was uploaded on 23 April 2005.
How many people use YouTube?
According to DataReportal, YouTube ads reached 2.53 billion people in January 2025, or 30.9% of the world's population. Ad reach is not the same as monthly active users, but it is the most comparable public figure.
Is YouTube a search engine?
YouTube works as a search engine because people type queries and get ranked videos. Its videos also appear in Google search results and AI Overviews, so YouTube SEO supports visibility in both places.
Related terms
- YouTube Users, Stats, Data & Trends · DataReportal
- Digital 2026: Poland · DataReportal
- YouTube revenue crosses $60 billion in 2025 · exchange4media
- About video ad formats · Google Ads Help
- YouTube Shorts averages 200 billion daily views · Tubefilter
- YouTube · Wikipedia
