MrBeast gives Mark Zuckerberg tips on how to monetize video content

On March 27, 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on an episode of The Colin & Samir Show, where Jimmy "MrBeast" made a surprise appearance as a guest. During their conversation, the YouTube star shared his insights on multiple topics.

MrBeast, who has a net worth of a billion dollars, naturally had some tips on how platforms should incorporate monetization and ads into video content. He suggested that video-sharing websites should have a "frictionless" tap-to-buy button for sponsored products, allowing viewers to seamlessly purchase items shown in a clip, similar to Amazon:

"I think every platform it's like another thing that feels archaic is when I'm on Amazon I just one tap buy. I just like, you know, tap and it just shows up on my doorstep. But when I see ads on other platforms so many times, even on YouTube. If I hold up a product in a YouTube video, like, 'Go buy this pen.' It's like, you would think you could just tap on the pen and then it would just go, 'Same address as normal?' And you just hit, 'Yes' and you know. "

MrBeast also told Zuckerberg that big platforms like Meta already have users' credit card numbers saved, raising the question of why a seamless tap-to-buy feature hasn't been set up yet:

"And same thing on Facebook. Especially because you guys have our card saved and things like that. So I always wondered why it was it's not more frictionless just to buy stuff, you know?"

The content creator was clearly invested in the idea and expressed his eagerness for a website to implement the feature without negatively impacting video retention rates:

"Because all the time I see things and I'm like, 'Oh I'd buy that.' But I'm kind of lazy. On content. I know Instagram shop and things like that it's a lot less frictionless but I make videos. So, particularly on videos, I'm dying for some platform just to figure out where if I just say, 'Hey buy this.' It should just be super frictionless without even leaving the video so it doesn't kill retention."

---

Mark Zuckerberg responds to MrBeast's idea about product placement in videos

After presenting his argument, MrBeast claimed that implementing a feature that allows for seamless product placement in videos would increase conversions. However, he acknowledged that he wasn't sure if his vision was realistic:

"Conversions would be so much higher and people would enjoy it so much more. So, uh, that's another thing. I don't know, I don't even know if that's realistic."

Mark Zuckerberg responded, stating that Meta has been working on similar concepts. However, he noted that many people might not be so keen to make impulse purchases without more consideration:

"Um, I mean, I think we're always trying to make it easier to do that stuff. I think most people probably want to consider purchases slightly more than just doing it right in line. But, um."

Timestamp 38:11

MrBeast noted that he personally wanted this feature, as he dislikes it when viewers have to leave a video to do something:

"It's brutal too and again I don't even know if this is what people want. Just from my perspective, I hate when people have to leave the video."

Zuckerberg seemed to agree with MrBeast's point, saying such features are in the works at Meta and that they just need to figure out how to get the idea "built into product":

"It makes sense. I do think that better kind of understanding within content, the segmentation of what the different things are, so you can engage with the different things. I mean, this is all stuff that's kind of coming. It's not long-term research, it's just stuff that you know needs to get built into product."

Apart from being a YouTuber, MrBeast is also an entrepreneur with his own brand of chocolates. His game show, Beast Games, debuted on Prime Video in 2024 to much fanfare, and the casting call for Season 2 has already begun.