Hyping small creators on YouTube

YouTube are experimenting with a feature called “Hyping”, where every week you can give points to 3 small creators, for videos published in the last week.

Behind this Bite

This is likely testing a few things; can we help surface better content from unknown creators, and how can small channels with ultra-fans actually make more noise?

It's great that after hyping, you see the number roll up in realtime—this demonstrates your impact on the score.

AI insights

Insights

Gamification is encouraging engagement with points, leaderboards, and competition. YouTube's 'Hype' points and leaderboard nudge users to support creators, making the process fun and sticky.
User Delight is about small, joyful moments that boost how people feel about a product. The real-time 'Hype' counter gives instant feedback, making users feel their support matters.
Variable Rewards motivate users by making outcomes unpredictable and exciting. Seeing the 'Hype' number roll up live can make users want to keep hyping, as the next reward feels just around the corner.
YouTube's reaction emojis also highlight user actions in real time. Both features give instant, visible feedback so users know their input counts, which can boost happiness and repeat use.
Loom shows analytics and celebratory moments after actions. Both Loom and YouTube use real-time feedback and visible progress to make users feel accomplished and more likely to keep engaging.