YouTube has launched a new feature called Gift Goals, currently being tested to help creators increase viewer engagement and generate revenue during live streams. The feature builds upon the existing goals system and integrates it with YouTube’s gifting mechanism
What Is Gift Goals and How It Works
- Creators can now set live-stream donation targets—such as a total gift amount and timeframe—which viewers can help meet by sending gifts.
- This extends the older Super Chat goals but now applies to gifts, enabling a more dynamic, gamified donation experience.
New Gifting Mechanics
- Viewers purchase Jewels (ranging from $0.99 to $49.99) and send animated gifts during vertical live streams. Creators receive Rubies, where 100 Rubies equal $1.
- Activating Gift Goals replaces Super Stickers, which are disabled for vertical live streams when gifts are enabled.Hindustan Times
- Eligible creators receive a 50% bonus on gift earnings for the first three months (up to $1,000).
How to Enable It
Creators can activate Gift Goals from the Earn tab in YouTube Studio by accepting the Virtual Items Module.
Currently, the feature is in limited trials for U.S.-based creators streaming vertically on mobile devices—wider availability is expected soon
Strategic Aims & Market Positioning
- YouTube is striving to match TikTok’s successful gifting model, encouraging creators to foster fan competition and donations.
- The interactive goal format is designed to deepen fan engagement and provide creators with new monetization tools beyond traditional ads and subscriptions.
