While some creators are wary of YouTube’s AI slop cleanup, marketers see it as a platform victory.
On July 15, YouTube updated its YouTube Partner Program creator policy, renaming its platform’s existing repeating content guidelines to cover more broadly “fraudulent content” including similar narration and repeated slideshows of narrated stories.
YouTube Global Communications lead Nicole Bell told Digiday that the change was a “minor update,” pointing to the video of YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie, claiming that the policy update was not specifically intended for AI-generated content. However, some YouTube creators have interpreted the move as a crackdown on videos that have been generated in AI. This is because we do so using AI tools using mass-produced videos. Since 2023, YouTube has requested creators to disclose videos when they involve changes or synthetic content created with AI tools, and creators have been asked to tag the videos during the upload process.
“All channels must follow YouTube’s monetization policy, and creators must disclose when realistic content is changed or synthesized. Regardless of how content is created, that’s true,” Richie said in the video.
However, YouTube’s updated guidelines are open-ended, making it more difficult for creators to understand what is allowed to automate video creation and posting, said YouTuber Bennett’s “Money Mind” Santora. For example, Santora’s channel Storieztold stitches together existing videos to produce a large number of original fictional stories about animals.
The soundtrack, which has not yet been affected by YouTube’s updated guidelines, states: “So I think that’s a real risk.”
“Every video we post is another story from another animal, but nonetheless, we may consider these repetitive content,” the soundtracked the crackdown on YouTube’s automated content. “I think realistically, I think they’ll consider more repetitive content.”
At the very least, marketers are ecstatic about YouTube’s new guidelines. While advertisers’ interest in faceless creators (where many use AI tools to automate the mass production of videos) is on the rise, the majority of marketers’ spending on branded YouTube content will be in a longer form of creators, with faceless creators in front and center, with faceless creators in front of and in the center. For example, Santora creates the majority of YouTube revenue through affiliate links and platform ad revenue shares, rather than direct sponsorships for branded content. He did not provide accurate revenue figures.
“We can clearly see these kinds of steps being taken. If all this ‘slop’ could be keeping the costs of the platform down, I’m wondering about the potential impact on CPM. There is a mechanism to prevent that content from being monetized, but I can’t believe it captured everything. “But overall, I don’t expect YouTube to have a very direct impact on how attractive it is to clients. I think it’s important that these new guidelines enforcement/enforcement will be viewed, especially as AI content becomes better and more difficult to identify.”
And despite the potential crackdown, both creators and marketers view YouTube’s updated policies as a positive move. They believe the platform shows that it pays attention to the way creators use AI. It is open to AI tools that do not bring about propagation of so-called “AI Slop” videos.
“I don’t think an update will kill automated content completely, but it will clarify the line between what was barely able to monetize and what is not – like videos and similar formats at the edge of what is considered a change.” “The same can be said about fully generated content or reaction videos that reuse the exact same template or recording across all uploads.”
Danilenko said she viewed YouTube crackdowns as “a little harsh,” but flagged the decision to close the channel rather than making it a demo net as an example, but said she understands YouTube reasoning and believes creators will be pushed to publish more original content as a result of the changes.
“When these types of channels stop monetizing, those kinds of low-effort content gradually disappears and viewers shift to content that actually adds value,” he said.
YouTube’s updated content guidelines are consistent with the rise of AI-generated ads on both YouTube and other platforms, raising concerns in the corner of consumers where products and individuals who support them can be misleading. Jonathan Meyers, CTO at Agentio, a creator marketing platform that may use AI to tweak video ads, said his company saw policy updates as a positive change to encourage influencer marketers to use AI to refine human-centered videos.
“For me, it shows where we are on the adoption curve, heading towards the disillusionment trough with some of these AI content tools and understanding what people value,” he said.
The excess of content generated in mass-generated AI on YouTube is a natural result of a relatively open-ended approach to AI tools over the past year. Previously, YouTube treated AI like other creation tools, but there was no specific policy regarding the mass publication of AI-generated videos. YouTube did not say how many channels have been shut down due to policy changes.
“The number of channels to end is a bit out of nowhere,” Danilenko said. “But honestly, this is just part of the grind.”
