There's growing concern about transparency in influencer marketing, particularly on platforms like YouTube where sponsored content is common but often buried in video descriptions or mentioned briefly. This makes it easy for viewers to miss disclosures, leading to purchases based on what appears to be unbiased recommendations. Since many viewers value authenticity, a tool to highlight sponsorships could help restore trust in online content.

How It Could Work

A browser plug-in could detect and display sponsorship information in real-time while users watch YouTube videos. The plug-in would scan video metadata and descriptions for keywords like "sponsored" or "partner" and use AI to analyze audio for common sponsorship phrases. When a sponsorship is detected, the viewer would see a clear notification with details about who sponsored the content and the nature of the partnership (e.g., paid promotion or affiliate link).

Building on this base, additional features could include:

• Skipping sponsored segments (like SponsorBlock)
• A crowdsourced system for users to report undisclosed sponsorships
• Pre-video summaries of known sponsorships

Potential Challenges and Solutions

One challenge is accuracy—AI might miss some sponsorships or flag false positives. This could be addressed by combining automated detection with user verification. Another concern is creator pushback, since some may resist transparency. Positioning the tool as beneficial for ethical creators (helping them build trust) could mitigate this.

For execution, starting with a basic version that scans video descriptions would test whether users find the concept valuable. More advanced features like AI detection could be added later if adoption grows. Interest could be gauged through waitlists or interviews with creators about disclosure attitudes.