YouTube will automatically flag videos that appear to use significant photorealistic AI generation, using internal signals rather than waiting for creators to self-disclose. The company is also moving AI labels out of the expanded description and placing them directly below the video player on long-form videos, with an overlay on YouTube Shorts. Creators remain responsible for disclosure, but YouTube can now label videos on their behalf.<\/p>\n
AI labels have been part of YouTube for more than two years. A disclosure tool in Creator Studio required creators to flag content that could be mistaken for a real person, place, or event. Animated or clearly imaginative material, such as a unicorn prancing through a fantastical landscape, was exempt.<\/p>\n
The underlying policy has not changed, but YouTube says it will now use new internal signals to identify AI-generated material and label it accordingly. Creators are still expected to disclose AI use themselves. If they do not, YouTube may label the video on their behalf.<\/p>\n
Creators whose work is flagged incorrectly will be able to update the disclosure status on their videos. However, they will not be able to remove labels from content produced with YouTube’s own AI tools, including Veo and Dream Screen. Labels will also stay attached permanently when videos carry C2PA metadata indicating they were fully AI-generated. Other companies that have committed to the C2PA standard include OpenAI, Nvidia, Kakao, and ElevenLabs.<\/p>\n
Until now, most labels lived in the expanded description, with prominent on-player labels reserved for sensitive topics such as health or news. Going forward, labels will appear directly below the video player and above the description for long-form videos, and will overlay directly on YouTube Shorts.<\/p>\n
For videos that are only slightly altered, animated, or unrealistic, the label will continue to appear in the expanded description only. YouTube has stated that the labels do not affect video recommendations or monetization.<\/p>\n
The shift coincides with broader advances in generative video. Last week’s Google I\/O developer conference introduced Gemini Omni, a family of multimodal models capable of producing high-quality video output. YouTube has separately expanded deepfake detection so any adult can scan the platform for face matches, building on earlier testing with public figures and creators. The platform has also been adding its own generative features, including an interactive Ask YouTube search tool, a YouTube Music playlist generator, and AI video summaries.<\/p>\n
YouTube will use new internal signals to apply AI labels to videos that appear to use significant photorealistic AI generation. Animated or clearly unrealistic content, such as a unicorn prancing through a fantastical landscape, remains exempt and continues to be labeled only in the expanded description.<\/p>\n
Creators can update the disclosure status if a video is flagged incorrectly, but they cannot remove labels from content produced with YouTube’s own AI tools, including Veo and Dream Screen. Labels also stay attached permanently when videos carry C2PA metadata indicating they were fully AI-generated.<\/p>\n
Labels will appear directly below the video player and above the description on long-form videos, and will overlay directly on YouTube Shorts. They do not affect video recommendations or monetization.<\/p>\n