YouTube is expanding its YouTube Shopping affiliate programme in India, giving creators alternative ways to earn from their content and making it easier for viewers to discover and purchase products directly through videos. The latest expansion comes ahead of India's festive shopping season and includes new e-commerce partners and AI-powered tools.

Amazon, Meesho and Other E-Commerce Platforms Join

As part of the expansion, Amazon, AJIO, Meesho, Snapdeal and Tata CLiQ are joining YouTube Shopping in India. They will be added alongside existing partners including Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, Purplle, Shopsy and Tira.

The expanded network will enable creators to tag products from a wider range of online retailers in their videos, and viewers can discover recommended products and shop through the tagged products while watching YouTube content.

YouTube Shopping Gains Momentum in India

YouTube said that the creator-led shopping ecosystem was growing rapidly in India, with average affiliate payouts to Indian creators increasing by more than 160% year-on-year from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.

More than half of eligible Indian creators were enrolled in the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme as of May 2026, while participation rose by more than 200% between June 2025 and June 2026, with more than 19 million videos tagged with affiliate products since YouTube Shopping launched in India.

The platform also reported that more than 450 million logged-in users in India searched for shopping-related content on YouTube, with shopping-related watch time rising by more than 55% year-on-year.

New AI Tools for YouTube Shopping

YouTube is also introducing new AI-powered features to enhance the shopping experience for viewers and creators.

With Ask YouTube, viewers can ask questions about products while watching videos, and the interactive feature is intended to help viewers understand product specifications and make product discovery easier.

For creators, YouTube is introducing additional tools to help brand partnerships and business growth, with YouTube Creator Partnerships designed to help brands discover creators, and Ask Studio will help creators prepare responses to brand briefs, develop pitches and manage partnership opportunities more efficiently.

Localised Shopping for Global Audiences

YouTube is also enhancing product tagging for creators with audiences in different countries, with product tags displaying localised offers for the viewer's location, helping international audiences discover relevant shopping options and enabling creators to potentially earn commissions from those purchases.

YouTube has also introduced Affiliate Partnerships Boost, which allows brands to amplify organic creator affiliate content through paid campaigns, which could give creators additional reach and help brands use creator-generated content in their marketing campaigns.

What the Expansion Means for Creators

The latest move strengthens YouTube's focus on creator-led commerce and affiliate marketing in India, with eligible creators generating additional income from recommending and tagging products in their content, rather than relying solely on advertising revenue or sponsorships.

Earlier in 2026, YouTube expanded access to its Shopping affiliate programme to eligible YouTube Partner Program creators with at least 500 subscribers, enabling smaller creators to participate in product-based monetisation across Shorts, videos and live content.

With more retailers joining the platform, new AI tools and growing consumer interest in shopping content, YouTube is positioning its video platform as an increasingly important destination for product discovery, creator recommendations and online shopping in India.