Affiliate Roundup: AI Search Visibility Grows, Meta And YouTube Liable, YouTube Opens Affiliate To Small Creators, & More

This week in FMTC’s Affiliate Roundup: Rakuten and Similarweb are helping brands track visibility inside AI search. A jury found Meta and YouTube liable for addictive platform design. YouTube is opening affiliate access to creators with just 500 subscribers.

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• Rakuten Advertising and Similarweb are partnering to give brands visibility into how they appear and perform inside AI search and LLMs, as marketers shift focus to optimizing for AI-driven discovery.

• A jury found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing addictive platforms that harmed a young user’s mental health, setting a major precedent for future lawsuits against Big Tech.

• Affiliate has a chance to become the “hero” in the customer journey as content-driven publishers gain influence in a fragmented, AI-driven media landscape.

• Affiliate is undergoing rapid change, with DealMaker highlighting how the industry is adapting to AI, shifting attribution, and new partnership models.

• YouTube has lowered the bar for its shopping program, allowing creators with just 500 subscribers to earn affiliate commissions, expanding access to video-driven commerce.

• The PMA AI Council is launching to set standards, share best practices, and guide responsible AI adoption in affiliate marketing.

• Meta is expanding its Facebook affiliate program, letting creators tag products directly in posts and earn commissions, as it deepens its push into in-app social commerce.