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Starting February 1, 2027, YouTube is changing the terms of the Partner Program (YPP), its first major rules update since 2018. The new rules touch Premium Lite, Shorts payouts, channel activity, and entry requirements for new YPP members.

July brought a wave of platform changes built around control: schools get a locked-down player for classroom video, parents get new safety alerts on Meta AI, and viewers get more precise ways to shape their own feeds. YouTube pushed updates across education, Shorts, and thumbnails; TikTok expanded its agentic AI tools for advertisers at Cannes Lions; and Meta rolled out teen-safety alerts alongside new AI search and verification features on Facebook. Here's what you need to know.

YouTube is changing its algorithm all the time. Why? To accommodate 2.85B active monthly users worldwide and optimize its own efficiency, of course. This article is a structured chronology of key changes explaining what they mean for your channel and how you can use them as a creator, content manager, or marketologist.

Some of YouTube’s biggest breakouts can be traced back to collaborations. In 2026, there are 15 types of collaborations: with family members, friends, significant others, similar creators, animators, brands, musicians, kids' shows, cross-platform, cross-niche, actors, fans, charities, challenge collabs, and even collaborations with games.

Cannes Lions has been the advertising industry's north star for seven decades, long before the creator economy even existed. In 2024, Cannes finally made room for creators. It wasn't much: a rooftop slot on the Palais, easy to miss, and marketers still ran the agenda. This year that changed. The conversations that used to happen about creators started happening with them, and their side events were everywhere.

June came in hot, and not just because of the heatwaves. YouTube dropped a bunch of new changes and expanded the existing tools beyond the borders of the US. Here’s everything you need to know.

YouTube Play Buttons — or YouTube plaques, as most creators call them — are the closest thing the internet has to an Oscar. The platform officially calls them Creator Awards.

May of 2026 brings updates to the podcast game, Ask YouTube, additional AI safeguards, and expansion of YouTube’s Partner Program. Here’s everything you need to know!

In 2026, live streaming has only become a bigger part of the creator economy. The biggest channels in the world broadcast live for hours a day across Twitch, YouTube Live, Kick, and TikTok Live, and the audiences they pull can rival traditional TV networks. The most popular live streamers in 2026 all have something in common, though – they don’t dominate by accident.

Reaction videos have been a cornerstone of YouTube entertainment for over a decade. Whether it’s a sharp take on music or a comedian roasting the worst of internet content, the best reaction channels turn passive viewing into something genuinely worth returning to. The creators below have built loyal audiences, distinct voices, and content that holds up past the first watch. Here’s a list of 40 creators who are crushing it in the world of reaction content.