NEW YORK — YouTube CEO Neel Mohan on Wednesday announced a series of new artificial intelligence features coming to the platform.
Speaking at a promotional event at Google’s Manhattan offices, Mohan said the new generative AI feature, which will be rolled out at an undetermined time later this year, will build on YouTube’s “track record of responsibility” while providing “access to AI to billions of people around the world.” The feature will include six-second AI-generated video clips that can be generated and integrated into YouTube Shorts, YouTube’s short-form video hub launched in the wake of TikTok’s success, through a feature powered by Google’s DeepMind AI technology.
NBC News previously reported that generative AI is being used to spread disinformation on YouTube, including channels peddling misleading, fake news about celebrities, with videos racking up millions of views. AI-manipulated images of celebrities are being used to create misleading thumbnails and spread salacious stories. YouTube removed some channels and content after NBC News flagged them for comment.
Responding to a question about concerns about the misuse of AI during the event, Mohan said that YouTube’s systems are powered by AI, including its content recommendation algorithms.
“Everything we make is aimed at enhancing human creativity,” he said.
YouTube plans to integrate the text and image output of Generative AI into its “Inspiration” feature for creators to provide suggestions and examples for video content. Generative AI will also provide “AI-enhanced” suggestions for how creators should respond to comments.
“This isn’t about replacing your ideas, this is about giving you the tools to get to your goals faster,” said Sara Ali, senior product director at YouTube.
The announcement follows a series of AI integrations from other companies, from Microsoft to Meta.
Mohan said 92% of YouTube creators are already using AI tools.
The new AI video-making tool is called “Veo” and allows creators to enter text prompts to create AI images that become the basis for six-second clips. Mohan previewed the tool with an AI-generated video of a dog and a sheep becoming friends.
YouTube is the latest platform to announce an AI-generated video feature, following a demo of OpenAI’s text-to-video tech Sora.
Ali said the AI-generated Veo productions are watermarked with SynthID, a tool developed by DeepMind to watermark and identify AI-generated material, and are clearly labeled to viewers as AI-generated. YouTube, Google and the rest of the internet are full of AI-generated content, but most of it isn’t watermarked — a promise of authenticity and safety made by many companies, but researchers have found it’s easy to circumvent.
Vivian LeWitt, global head of artists at YouTube, also introduced an AI feature called “Dream Track,” which can generate instrument-only tracks for short videos, and a tool called “Music AI Sandbox,” which can create musical “loops.”
YouTube is also expanding its “auto-dubbing” feature, which can translate videos into other languages, and the “expressive speech” update aims to make dubbing sound more natural by mimicking the pitch, intonation and acoustic environment of the original voice.
The new feature, called the “Hype” button, will allow viewers to suggest videos to be featured on a new type of trending page. For the past few years, YouTube’s “Trending” pages, which showcased the best-performing videos on the platform, have been moved and split into categories.
As more people watch YouTube on traditional TV screens and YouTubers seek Emmy awards, YouTube is also giving creators the option to identify their videos as “seasons” and “episodes,” and it’s also building out a “Community” feature that will become a hub where a YouTuber’s fans can gather and interact.
YouTube is also introducing more ways for creators to earn revenue directly from their viewers, including livestream “gifting,” similar to TikTok Live and Twitch, where viewers can reward creators with small donations.
The AI announcement builds on a feature YouTube previously introduced: in 2023, the company unveiled “DreamScreen,” an AI-generated background feature for its short videos.
