Speaking at Made on YouTube in New York on Wednesday, September 18, YouTube CEO Neel Mohan announced a range of new AI tools for creators on the platform.
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The AI tools are aimed at “supporting creators every step of the way” and range from AI-powered inspiration to AI video generators. Mohan highlighted AI’s ability to further YouTube’s mission to be the “best place for creators” and assured creators that YouTube will continue to build on its “track record of responsibility.” He added that 92% of creators are already using AI tools. The new features will be rolled out to creators in the coming months and by early 2025.
Johanna Voolich, YouTube’s head of product, told Mashable that the team prioritized the entire creative lifecycle when building these products. Here are more details on the announced tools:
Veo
Perhaps the biggest announcement at the event was “Veo,” a six-second, AI-generated video clip designed for TikTok rival YouTube Shorts, which runs on Google’s DeepMind technology and uses text prompts to create the clips.
After Joe Ano, the fashion designer and creator of Ella Emhoff’s Democratic National Convention dress, demonstrated using Veo to generate movement for the dress, Sara Ali, senior director of product, deflected criticism of the feature, saying:[Veo] It only works because of Joe’s creative vision.” Another demonstration included an AI-generated video of a dog and a sheep becoming friends.
Veo Shorts will have a watermark Synth ID Any AI-generated content will be clearly labeled. “Over time, people’s views may change, but for now we want to have that level of transparency so people can make their own judgments about what they’re watching,” Vorich said.
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Veo’s announcement comes shortly after other platforms such as OpenAI’s Sora launched their AI-generated video capabilities.
Inspiration Tab
YouTube wants to make the creative process easier, and it’s trying to do just that with the Inspiration tab, an AI-generated hub that helps creators come up with video ideas, titles, thumbnails, and outlines. User comments are also incorporated into the AI idea inspiration. Users can’t opt out of having their comments incorporated. “The way YouTube works is based on contributions. A creator’s contribution is the video, but a viewer’s contribution is what they’re watching and what they’re commenting on. That’s what makes the platform work,” Voolich said.
Users are already engaging with what Vorich calls “invisible AI.” “This is the AI we’ve been using at YouTube all this time to build our search and recommendation systems,” he says. “It’s the user-centric AI that shows up in your home feed and in your next video.”
Audience engagement
YouTube also announced that it will use AI to help creators stay in touch with their viewers: the tool will highlight important commenters, show creators “profile cards” and past comments, and provide AI-enhanced reply suggestions in the creator’s voice.
The company also announced another way to engage with viewers: Communities. Reminiscent of Substack’s chat, Communities allows creators to post directly to their viewers, and viewers can post their own photos and text posts.
Additionally, YouTube is launching “Hype,” a way for viewers to support their favorite up-and-coming creators by suggesting their videos reach a wider audience. The tool is like a game for liking creators and is only available to creators with 5,000 or fewer subscribers and for videos posted in the last seven days. Users will receive a limited number of Hype points per week, but YouTube is considering selling more Hype points as a new revenue stream for creators.
Auto Dubbing
YouTube is using AI to turn auto-generated subtitles into dubs in a variety of languages. The feature, called “Expressive Speech,” aims to make the dubs as close as possible to the original audio by mimicking tone, pitch, and outside noises. It plans to expand the feature to 100,000 creators in the coming months.
In non-AI news, YouTube is expanding livestreaming rewards by launching a TikTok- and Twitch-like model where viewers can “gift” creators, and it will also allow creators to categorize their videos into seasons and episodes as more people turn to TV screens and YouTubers seek Emmy awards.
