YouTube is escalating its war against ad blockers with a new server-side ad injection (SSAI) strategy. This move aims to make ads indistinguishable from the actual video content, rendering traditional ad blockers ineffective.
Unlike the current client-side ad insertion (CSAI) method, where ads are placed on top of videos through the web browser, SSAI integrates the ads on YouTube’s servers. This means the ads appear as part of the video stream, making it impossible for ad blockers to detect and remove them.
Read About: Mobile YouTube Ad Blockers Users Should Prepare for Buffering Battles
How SSAI Works
With SSAI, YouTube is embedding the ads directly into the video content on their servers before delivering it to the user. This process involves the SSAI server requesting ads from third-party ad servers, stitching them into the content at the same bitrate, frame rate and audio level as the underlying stream, and then passing the integrated stream back to the viewing device via the content delivery network (CDN).
By integrating content and ads into one continuous stream, SSAI provides a viewing experience that is seamless and similar to a traditional advertising break on TV. This approach also ensures a consistent experience across various platforms and devices.
Read Also: How to go about YouTube copyright claims on your content
Advantages of SSAI
SSAI offers several advantages over the traditional CSAI method:
- Ads look like they are part of the content, eliminating buffering issues and providing a smooth viewing experience
- Integrated ads are less prone to being blocked by ad-blocking software
- A consistent experience is ensured across various platforms and devices
User reactions and workarounds
Some users have already reported encountering this new SSAI technology, noting that they are seeing ads even when using ad blockers like uBlock Origin.
The developer behind the popular SponsorBlock ad blocker has acknowledged this issue, explaining that SSAI provides data to the video player about the ad duration, which could potentially be used by ad blockers to identify and block the ads.
However, the developer also stated that making ad blockers capable of handling SSAI will be a challenging task, and it may take some time before these extensions can effectively block the new type of ads
Related: YouTube Surpasses 100 Million Global Subscribers for Paid Music and Video Tiers
 strategy. Here's how it works.){kind=link}