MANILA -- Fewer clicks, smoother checkouts— that’s the promise of YouTube as it officially launched its shopping feature in the Philippines on Thursday, in partnership with e-commerce platform Shopee.

YoutTbe Shopping allows content creators and brands to directly tag the products they are recommending, instead of the old system of having to list down numerous links in the description box. 

The tag would then serve as the link to the actual product for purchasing.

Shopee Philippines head Vincent Lee said the direct tagging also minimizes the risk of getting scammed. Phishing links are particularly prevalent in the Philippines.

“Whenever a scam happens, a lot of times it happens with a broken linkage... When you can connect directly, tag the product directly, you make sure it links correctly to the Shopee app then there is no room for scam and fraud,” said Lee.

YouTube parent firm Google also noted that there are certain qualifications that need to be met before a content creator could join their Youtube shopping affiliate program.

“We will ensure through some checks and balances that it’s not as simple as clicking a button. To be a YouTube partner, we will look at things such as quality, ranking and scores. We’ll look at history and behavior over time, trust,” according to Sapna Chadha, Google Asia Pacific’s Vice President for Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier.

Chadha added that YouTube also requires proper labeling of content, especially amid the growing use of AI-generated deepfakes to sell fake or uncertified products on the internet.

“We’re also doing things around labeling of content so we understand what’s synthetic and what’s not so we’re able to also do some additional verification… We will ensure that any content that is generated through AI is labeled as such,” she said.

CONTENT CREATOR BENEFITS

Many content creators who attended the launch expressed excitement to integrate YouTube Shopping into their videos, saying it also makes their live easier— not just the consumers.

“I started YouTube 2013 pa so before, naglalagay talaga kami sa description box ng links so medyo matrabaho kasi you have to tell your audience, your viewers na dito po sa description box, check the description box down below. Pero ngayon every time na manunuod, nagfa-flash na siya,” said beauty vlogger Anne Clutz.

Evan Tan, who usually promotes skincare products and clothes, said he is also looking forward to earning more from commissions.

“YouTube has a different audience. Not everyone who follows me on Tiktok follows me on YouTube so at least I can reach another audience na maybe they’re interested sa mga products na yun, I can earn more, diba?” he said.