Google-owned video sharing platform YouTube is clamping down on the proliferation of low-quality, artificial intelligence-generated content by clarifying what videos qualify for its monetization solutions.
A new policy took effect last week that applies to all creators participating in the YouTube Partner Program, which allows them to earn a share of advertising and subscription revenue from the platform.
YouTube previously prohibited what it described as inauthentic content, including mass-produced or repetitive videos. The latest revision does not create a blanket restriction on AI-generated material, but provides more detail about the types of videos that could make channels ineligible for monetization.
YouTube’s Head of Trust and Safety Matt Halprin said the company is attempting to distinguish between creators who use AI to improve original work and operators who use automated tools to produce large volumes of similar videos primarily for advertising revenue.
“AI can actually allow people to make a lot of videos,” Halprin said in a video published through YouTube’s Creator Insider channel. “Sometimes those videos are great, and it really enhances creativity.”
The first category covers generic, repetitive or template-based videos with little meaningful variation between uploads. That can include content produced using AI, computer-generated imagery or reusable templates. Tutorials may also fall under the policy when they closely reproduce material that is already widely available without adding original analysis or instruction.
A second category focuses on content YouTube considers off-putting or intentionally distressing. Examples include emotionally manipulative videos designed to generate views, such as staged or exploitative footage involving animals in danger followed by apparent rescues.
Halprin said channels built around such material can lose monetization regardless of whether AI was used to create the videos.
The third category concerns AI-generated personas discussing sensitive subjects, including healthcare, finance and legal issues. YouTube said it does not want its revenue-sharing program to encourage creators to use synthetic representations of real people to provide potentially misleading guidance in areas where inaccurate information could cause harm.
Channels containing excessive amounts of content from any of the three categories may be removed from the YouTube Partner Program.
The changes arrive as YouTube competes with television networks and streaming platforms for advertising budgets. Protecting the quality of its programming environment has become increasingly important as more viewing shifts to connected televisions and advertisers place greater scrutiny on brand safety.
