The “Productification” of Humanity: How AX (Algorithm Experience) Can Influence Advertising Performance on YouTube

YouTube is Portugal’s most widely used social network, and the advertising sustains its free service. Users perceive this advertising negatively and dislike interruptions and irrelevant ads. There is also concern among individuals about their data, coupled with a feeling of powerlessness when managing or controlling the information collected by the platforms. The impact of ads on digital platforms has multiple dimensions and will depend on and affect user perception. More knowledge of consumer behaviours and relationships with YouTube is needed to deliver a tailored experience. This study proposes the definition of YouTube consumer profiles and investigates their perception of algorithm experience on ad recommendations. Preliminary results have shown that transparency of algorithms may increase trust between people and the algorithms themselves, allowing for the adoption of more efficient recommendation services. Therefore, this study proposes adopting the algorithm experience as the essential solution for promoting the best user experience and greater advertising efficiency for advertisers.