In short
- YouTube's blog of 23 March 2026 says BrandConnect is now YouTube Creator Partnerships, and YouTube Help lists India among the countries where eligible Partner Program creators can use it.
- Creators negotiate and sign with the brand directly and are paid by the brand. The earnings figure on an inquiry comes from the advertiser and is not a final offer.
- We could not confirm which Indian advertisers can use the brand-side tools, or whether there is a fee. Google India's 2023 post said rollout was to eligible creators and select advertisers.
- Everything that matters in a YouTube creator deal works without the tool: a contract, the paid promotion setting, an unlisted draft for review and a brand partner access request.
YouTube BrandConnect is now called YouTube Creator Partnerships. YouTube's blog of 23 March 2026 says so, and describes a single platform with the creator side in YouTube Studio and the advertiser side in Google Ads and Display & Video 360. YouTube Help lists India among the countries where eligible Partner Program creators can use it. What we could not confirm from YouTube's own pages is which Indian brands can use the advertiser side today, or whether it has a fee. So this guide separates what is confirmed from what is not, and shows how to run a creator deal with the tool or without it.
It sits under our YouTube influencer marketing work and our guide to influencer marketing in India. We wrote it from YouTube Help, YouTube's blog and Google India's blog, because third-party articles on this topic disagree with each other and with YouTube. Menu names change often, so confirm each step in YouTube Studio.
What we confirmed, and what we could not
| Question | What YouTube's own pages say | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Is BrandConnect still called that? | YouTube's blog (23 Mar 2026) names the platform YouTube Creator Partnerships and says it was formerly BrandConnect | Confirmed |
| Can Indian creators use it? | YouTube Help lists India among 24 countries and regions where eligible creators can use it | Confirmed for eligible creators |
| What makes a creator eligible? | At least 18, in the Partner Program, based in an available country, no active Community Guidelines strikes | Confirmed |
| Did it launch for Indian advertisers? | Google India's post of 21 Dec 2023 said BrandConnect was rolling out to eligible creators and select advertisers in India | Confirmed for 2023; no current India advertiser criteria found |
| Which Indian brands can use the advertiser tools today? | The 2026 blog tells advertisers to reach out to their Google team; it does not list advertiser countries | Not confirmed |
| Does it charge a fee? | Not stated on the pages we read | Not confirmed |
| How many Indian creators are in it? | No figure given for India; the blog says over 3 million Partner Program creators are searchable globally | Not confirmed |
| Do payments run through YouTube? | No: creators sign with and are paid by the brand | Confirmed |
We also tried to open the old Google Ads Help page that described BrandConnect for advertisers. Its address now returns a not-found page, which fits the rename. Some blogs say the tool is available in seven markets; YouTube Help lists 24 countries and regions. We follow YouTube Help.
What the tool does, creator side
According to YouTube Help, eligible creators get a Creator Partnerships tab on the Earn page of YouTube Studio. They can:
- set desired rates for long-form video and Shorts partnerships, and add a business contact email for a manager or agent;
- build a media kit with audience insights;
- receive brand inquiries, each showing the brand, a summary, the amount the creator can earn (provided by the advertiser, and not a final offer), the partnership details, deliverables, talking points and call to action;
- respond Interested or Not interested. If interested, YouTube shares the creator's contact details with the brand, and the creator negotiates and signs an agreement directly with the brand and is paid by the brand.
Creators are discoverable by brands by default and opt out by emailing YouTube. Sharing channel insights makes them easier to find; YouTube's blog says creators who shared insights were surfaced 60 percent more in search results on average.
What the tool does, brand side
YouTube's blog says advertisers get Gemini-assisted discovery across more than 3 million Partner Program creators, a way to build a list of best-fit creators and, soon, to send inquiries to several at once, and a section for managing brand deal links. For paid reach, it describes creator partnerships boost, formerly partnership ads, which turns creator videos into ads on Shorts and in-stream using Google's Demand Gen, Video Reach and Video View campaigns. Select partners can use an expanded API to build these capabilities into their own tools.
Two related features are narrower:
- Open Call. An invite-only feature where eligible creators browse brand briefs and submit vertical Shorts. Creators in India, the UK and the US can take part if they are in the Partner Program, have 500 to 500,000 subscribers and have posted a Short in the last 30 days. We could not confirm brand-side availability for India. See YouTube Shorts influencer marketing.
- Dynamic brand segments. An invite-only 2026 pilot that lets creators add, replace or remove branded segments in published videos. We found no country list for it.
Brand partner access: the part you can use today
Brand partner access does not depend on a creator being discoverable in the tool: per YouTube Help, any creator can select a reported brand deal or receive a brand's request. YouTube Help says brands can request it for long-form videos and Shorts posted as part of a brand deal, and the request associates the brand's Google Ads account with the video. It lets the brand, and third parties acting for it such as influencer marketing agencies, view the video's organic and paid performance and boost it using creator partnerships boost. So you need a Google Ads account, and a creator who says yes.
| Route | Who starts it | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Select a reported brand deal | Creator, during upload or edit | Any creator, if the brand or agency has reported the campaign |
| Search for the brand | Creator, during upload or edit | Partner Program creators |
| Share access with a code | Creator, after upload | Partner Program creators |
| Brand request | Brand or agency, after upload | Any creator can receive it |
Per YouTube Help, once access is shared a "Paid promotion" label is added to the content, and the creator agrees to share viewer demographics, watch time, retention, engagement and performance data with the brand. In YouTube Studio the creator's path, per YouTube Help, runs Create, Upload videos, Add details, Show more, Monetization, then Paid promotion & brands. Menu names change, so confirm on screen. YouTube advises creators to agree usage rights with advertisers separately, and so should you.
Running a deal with or without the tool
| Step | With Creator Partnerships | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| Find creators | Search eligible Partner Program creators | Your agency's network (ours has 50,000+ creators; see how we work), search and referrals |
| First contact | Inquiry through the tab, plus email and social handles | Email or social message with a short brief |
| Negotiate | Directly with the creator, on your terms | Same |
| Paperwork | Your own contract | Same; see influencer contracts in India |
| Draft review | Upload as Unlisted in the campaign videos section for brand review | Ask for an unlisted link; review claims and the label |
| Disclosure | Paid promotion setting, plus ASCI label on screen | Same |
| Data access | Brand partner access | Request it after upload; or collect screenshots |
| Payment | Directly from the brand | Same |
| Paid reach | Creator partnerships boost | Same, once access is shared |
The practical message is that the tool changes discovery and the paperwork flow, not the deal. If you cannot use the advertiser side, you give up search and inquiry management, not the ability to hire a YouTube creator, review a draft, require a label or request metrics.
Running it without the tool: a six-step checklist
- Shortlist from your own search. Use creator networks, search and the audience checks in how to spot fake followers.
- Brief on the decision the viewer must make, not on features. See integration vs dedicated video for which format to buy.
- Contract. Fee, deliverables, two revision rounds, usage rights and window, exclusivity, disclosure, and a clause that the creator will accept a brand partner access request within a set number of days.
- Draft review. An unlisted link, checked for claims, price on screen, label and link.
- Publish. The creator selects the paid promotion setting, which YouTube says adds a disclosure label at the start of the video. ASCI also expects a clear on-screen label; see our ASCI influencer guidelines explainer. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Measure and extend. Request brand partner access, collect retention and watch time at day 7, 30 and 90, and decide on boosting.
Costs
YouTube's pages do not state a platform fee, so we do not put one in a budget. Creator fees follow the usual rate cards. Indicative asking prices per creator from the published Indian cards we use, excluding GST, usage rights and agency fees:
| Tier | Dedicated video | Integration | Short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (10K to 100K) | ₹20,000 to ₹1.2 lakh | ₹15,000 to ₹60,000 | ₹8,000 to ₹40,000 |
| Mid-tier (100K to 500K) | ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh | ₹60,000 to ₹2.5 lakh | ₹40,000 to ₹1.5 lakh |
| Macro (500K to 1M) | ₹3 lakh to ₹15 lakh | ₹2 lakh to ₹6 lakh | ₹60,000 to ₹3 lakh |
See the influencer rates guide for all tiers and caveats, and the cost calculator to model a plan. Agency management fees, where an agency runs the tool for you, are separate; published benchmarks suggest 15 to 25 percent of creator spend.
If you want a team to find, brief and track the creators, with the tool where it applies, send us a brief and you will have a creator plan within 48 hours.
Sources
- Get started with YouTube Creator Partnerships (India), YouTube Help (Google) (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- YouTube Creator Partnerships: A new era for brand and creator collaborations, YouTube Blog (23 Mar 2026)
- More ways for creators and artists to create and earn on YouTube, Google India blog (21 Dec 2023)
- Sharing brand partner access to your video, YouTube Help (Google) (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Partner with brands through Open Call, YouTube Help (Google) (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Add dynamic brand segments to your YouTube videos, YouTube Help (Google) (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Add branded content restrictions & disclosure labels, YouTube Help (Google) (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- ASCI Code and guidelines, including the influencer advertising guidelines, Advertising Standards Council of India (undated, accessed 31 Oct 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Is YouTube BrandConnect available in India?
BrandConnect has been renamed YouTube Creator Partnerships. YouTube Help lists India among the countries where eligible Partner Program creators can use it, and Google India's 21 December 2023 post said BrandConnect was rolling out to eligible creators and select advertisers in India. We could not confirm from YouTube's pages which Indian brands can use the advertiser side today.
What is the difference between BrandConnect and YouTube Creator Partnerships?
Nothing in function that we can see: YouTube's blog says Creator Partnerships is the new name, with the creator side in YouTube Studio and the advertiser side in Google Ads and Display & Video 360. It also says the partnership ads format is now called creator partnerships boost. Some older articles and email addresses on YouTube's pages still carry the BrandConnect name.
Do creators get paid through YouTube Creator Partnerships?
YouTube's Help page says a creator who is interested in an inquiry negotiates and signs an agreement directly with the brand and is paid by the brand. The earnings figure shown on the inquiry is provided by the advertiser and is not a final offer. Read our guide to influencer contracts in India before you sign.
Do brands pay YouTube a fee to use Creator Partnerships?
The YouTube pages we read do not mention a platform fee for creators or brands, so we cannot say. The tool sits inside Google Ads and Display & Video 360 on the advertiser side. Ask your Google team or agency what applies to your account. For creator rates, see our influencer rates guide.
Can any YouTube creator be found through the tool?
No. YouTube Help says creators must be at least 18, in the YouTube Partner Program, based in an available country or region and have no active Community Guidelines strikes. Eligible creators are discoverable to brands by default. Creators below the Partner Program thresholds will not appear, so you need another route to find them. See how to find influencers in India.
How do I run a YouTube creator deal without the tool?
Find and vet the creator yourself or through an agency, agree a contract, have the creator select the paid promotion setting, review the video as an unlisted draft and, after upload, request brand partner access so you can see organic and paid metrics and boost the video. Our YouTube influencer marketing page shows how we run it.