YouTube is expanding its Shopping affiliate programme to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, allowing eligible creators to tag products in videos, Shorts and livestreams and earn commissions on resulting purchases.
The programme is available to creators in the YouTube Partner Program with more than 500 subscribers. Amazon is the first affiliate partner, with YouTube saying it plans to add more retailers. Viewers can purchase products through links while watching content, including from outside the countries where the programme is available.
YouTube said Google AI can identify products in videos and suggest tags, reducing the manual work for creators. Viewers watching on television can also scan an on-screen QR code with their phones to complete a purchase.
The company said more than 40 million logged-in users across Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE made shopping-related searches on YouTube in June 2026. Globally, users watch more than 40 billion hours of shopping-related content on the platform each year.
According to YouTube, the launch gives regional creators an additional revenue stream while helping brands and sellers reach audiences through product reviews, recommendations and other shopping-focused content.
Source: Wamda
