YouTube is considering an ad-free subscription service

Google Inc. ’s YouTube is working on a paid-subscription business model, a big change from the advertising-only approach that turned it into the world’s largest online video website, according to a top executive at the Internet giant. The change is being led by Susan Wojcicki, a veteran Google executive who spent years on the advertising side of the company. She took over YouTube earlier this year and has been looking for ways to generate more revenue and profit from the video site, which Google acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006. A paid, ad-free subscription version of YouTube, in addition to the existing ad-supported offering, would give users more choice and work well in a world where viewers are increasingly watching videos through apps on mobile devices, Ms. Wojcicki said during the Code Mobile conference in Half Moon Bay, Calif., late Monday.