YouTube Shorts viewers may see AI versions of their favorite creators while scrolling through their feed. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan declare on Wednesday that creators will be able to create Shorts using their own likeness.
“This year you will be able to create a Short using your own likeness, create a game with simple text instructions, and experiment with music,” wrote Mohan in his annual letter. “Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for expression, not a substitute.”
The shorts, which Mohan says now average 200 billion views a day, are among YouTube’s most popular mediums. The company continues to invest in Shorts to maintain its audience. While YouTube did not share additional details about this similarity, the new capabilities will join the platform’s current AI tools for Shorts, including the ability to generate AI clipsAI stickers, AI automatic dubbing, and more.
YouTube will also equip creators with new tools to manage the use of likeness in AI-generated content, according to Mohan.
While YouTube will allow creators to display their own likeness in videos, the Google-owned platform recently rolled out technology to prevent others from using it. Last October, YouTube launch of similarity detection technology for eligible creators to identify AI-generated content that displays a likeness to the creator, such as their face and voice. Creators can then request removal of AI-generated content.
Like other social platforms, YouTube has dealt with the spread of AI slop. Mohan said the company is working to maintain a quality viewing experience.
“Over the past 20 years, we’ve learned not to impose our preconceived notions on the creator ecosystem,” Mohan wrote. “Today, strange trends like ASMR and watching other people play video games are the main hits. But with this openness, it is our responsibility to maintain the quality viewing experience that people want. To reduce the spread of low-quality AI content, we are actively building an established system that has been very successful in combating spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low-quality repetitive content.”
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YouTube is also set to expand Shorts with new formats, including image posts, which have been popular on TikTok and Instagram Reels.