YouTube is launching its most extensive reorganization since 2015, reshaping the video platform’s product teams into three distinct divisions effective November 5, 2025. The restructuring, driven primarily by a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence integration, represents the company’s most significant operational change in a decade and will impact all product lines including YouTube Music.
The reorganization splits product teams into three core divisions: Viewer Products, Subscriptions, and Creator & Community Products, each reporting directly to CEO Neal Mohan. Johanna Voolich will lead Viewer Products, overseeing the core YouTube app, Search and Discovery, YouTube Kids, Learning, Living Room, and Trust & Safety components.
Christian Oestlien will head the Subscriptions division, managing YouTube Premium, Music, TV, Primetime Channels, Podcasts, and Commerce, a segment that already boasts over 125 million paid subscribers. YouTube Music’s placement within the Subscriptions division signals the platform’s commercial importance within YouTube’s ecosystem.
YouTube’s strategic placement of Music within Oestlien’s Subscriptions division highlights its commercial significance within the revenue ecosystem.
This integration with Premium, TV, and Primetime Channels under unified leadership aims to accelerate innovation through AI-driven personalization and content discovery. The restructuring clearly emphasizes expanding subscription revenue streams alongside traditional advertising income.
Accompanying the reorganization is a voluntary exit program for U.S.-based employees, offering severance packages for those wishing to leave. This approach aims to streamline operations without resorting to involuntary layoffs, mirroring efficiency measures implemented by other tech firms like Amazon. Recent financial reports show YouTube’s advertising revenue increased to $10.26 billion, a 15% year-on-year growth that underscores the platform’s continued market strength.
The overhaul aligns with broader industry trends leveraging AI for enhanced productivity and cost efficiency. By centralizing leadership within each division, YouTube hopes to enable faster decision-making and clearer strategic alignment.
The company is particularly focused on growing content monetization, especially in subscription services and connected TV advertising. Musicians using the platform will need to adapt their promotional strategies to maximize visibility as YouTube refines its algorithmic recommendations. Independent artists utilizing YouTube Music will likely see changes to the playlist pitching process as the platform evolves its discovery mechanisms under the new organizational structure. While the Creator & Community Products division currently lacks permanent leadership, with Voolich serving as interim head, it will focus on creator tools, Shorts, and generative AI features, completing YouTube’s tripartite approach to maintaining market dominance in an increasingly AI-driven digital landscape. The company’s AI roadmap emphasizes enhancing creator roles rather than replacing human creativity with automated systems.
