YouTube to let creators use AI likeness in Shorts

On Wednesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that creators will soon be able to make Shorts using their own AI likeness. The feature is set to launch as the Google-owned platform seeks to engage its massive audience for Shorts, which now averages 200 billion daily views. This massive viewership makes Shorts one of the platform’s most popular mediums.

In his annual letter, Mohan outlined the platform’s vision for generative tools, emphasizing that the technology is meant to assist rather than displace human creators. “Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement,” Mohan wrote. Under these new features, creators will soon be able to generate Shorts using their own AI likeness. Additionally, Mohan announced that this year creators will be able to produce games with a simple text prompt and experiment with music on the platform. Beyond these likeness and creative tools, YouTube is set to expand Shorts with new formats, including image posts, which are already popular on competitor platforms TikTok and Instagram Reels.

However, the introduction of these tools comes alongside efforts to combat AI slop, a colloquial term for low-quality, repetitive, or spammy AI-generated content. To maintain viewing quality, YouTube is building on its established systems used to combat spam and clickbait. Mohan stated that over the past 20 years of operation, the platform has learned not to impose preconceived notions on the creator ecosystem. He noted that once-odd trends like ASMR and watching other people play video games are now mainstream hits, but added that this openness requires maintaining a high-quality viewing experience. To reduce the spread of low-quality, repetitive AI content, the platform is actively building on its existing systems that have previously been successful in combatting spam and clickbait. To protect creator identities, YouTube is also expanding its likeness-detection technology. Last October, the platform rolled out likeness-detection technology to identify AI-generated content featuring a creator’s face or voice.

Why it matters

YouTube is attempting to thread the needle between empowering creators with generative AI tools and maintaining platform quality. By implementing safeguards against unauthorized likeness use and low-quality content, the platform hopes to foster creative expression without degrading the user experience.