YouTube trials Gift Goals to encourage Live-Stream donations

New Delhi: YouTube is testing an expanded “gift goals” feature designed to encourage live-stream donations by allowing creators to set a target amount and offer a reward once that threshold is reached. The feature is currently being trialled on vertical live streams via mobile devices in the U.S., with plans for broader rollout at a later stage.

“We’re experimenting with gift goals, a new feature that expands the goals feature to vertical live streams. Creators in the experiment will be able to set a target gift amount and pick a timeframe to achieve the goal before sharing it with their viewers. With gift goals creators get a new way to engage with their audience and build community,” YouTube explained.

The platform first introduced goals for Super Chat last year, allowing streamers to establish a target and reward for audience engagement. The new gift goals extend this functionality to all live-stream creators, creating a gamified method to encourage donations.

YouTube is also testing an engagement leaderboard for live-streams, which ranks viewers based on their activity, and rolling out a “Jewels” live donation option, providing additional ways for viewers to financially support creators. These mechanisms are intended to promote competitive donations, potentially increasing earnings for live-streamers and driving audience interaction.