Khaberni - Amid the rapid penetration of artificial intelligence tools, content production is no longer exclusively human, as algorithms are now capable of creating texts, images, and even complete videos without significant human intervention. This transformation has opened new creative horizons, but has also raised profound questions about authenticity and credibility.
In this context, YouTube has emerged as one of the main arenas witnessing the widespread spread of automated content, prompting the platform to review its policies, especially those related to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which allows creators to monetize their content, in an attempt to stem the decline in quality. What has changed in YouTube's policies? And does this step suffice to regulate the chaos of automated content?
The Flood of Industrial Content
YouTube hosts an increasing number of industrially produced videos using artificial intelligence tools, fueled by recommendation algorithms, and recycled on a wide scale, progressively sidelining traditional content creators, leading to a digital environment leaning towards repetition and banality, with a clear decline in creative value.
This type of production is known in industry circles as "AI Slop," meaning low-quality, repetitive content that is often produced for purely commercial purposes without any substantial commercial contribution.
Several examples have underscored the need to act, including fully AI-produced true crime series that have become popular, deepfake operations that exploit public figures' images for fraud, and fake news videos produced by AI that have garnered millions of views.
YouTube Tightens Its Grip
In response to this challenge, since July 15, 2025, YouTube has started implementing stricter guidelines within its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) aimed at restricting the monetization capabilities of inauthentic content.
Although the platform has always required creators to provide "original and authentic" content, the new update aims to clarify what is considered "inauthentic" in an era where automated production tools are accessible to everyone. Even without a direct mention of artificial intelligence in the official statement, the tone of the measures clearly targets this type of content.
At the same time, YouTube has assured that content that uses artificial intelligence will not be completely banned, but it emphasized that it must be "clearly original" and add "tangible human value." Meaning, artificial intelligence can still be a tool, but not a substitute for creativity.
In a video update posted two weeks ago on YouTube, Renee Richie, a content creator relations officer, clarified that the update is a "minor clarification" and not a policy overhaul, adding that randomly automated content has always been ineligible for monetization. However, what Richie did not mention is how easy it is to produce these videos today, and how it has turned into an industry of its own.
The new policy particularly targets channels that rely almost entirely on automation, often from low-income countries like Vietnam, Pakistan, or Indonesia, where advertising revenue represents a major source of livelihood.
What Will Actually Change?
According to the updates, any content that is:
Produced in large quantities via text-to-video conversion tools.
Relies on stolen or reused footage without substantial modification.
Includes automated voiceover over archival images or clips.
Follows a repetitive template without clear added value.
These changes target common patterns today, such as automated slideshow presentations, artificial intelligence music, fake news videos, and even short videos (Shorts) produced using template styles.
What Should Content Creators and Professionals Do?
Content creators, who heavily rely on automation, must review their workflow. Channels that publish large amounts of automated content without clear human intervention or effective editing may lose their monetization advantage under the new YPP rules.
For filmmakers relying on YouTube as a platform for distribution or marketing or building an audience base, the new policies are unlikely to affect their original, high-quality works.
However, the update serves as a necessary reminder that using artificial intelligence tools—whether generating secondary footage, developing screenplay ideas, or preparing automatic subtitles—should contribute to producing content that clearly bears your creative signature.
The Paradox of Authenticity and Automation
Many see YouTube's recent policies as belated, yet they represent—at a minimum—an acknowledgment that human creativity cannot easily be replaced by content produced automatically in batches. However, the success of these measures depends on the clarity and fairness of their application.
Will these policies control digital chaos, or will they turn into a selective tool that sidelines independent content creators, giving preference to "institutional" or managed content?
Complicating the picture further is the explicit contradiction in the stance of the parent company, Alphabet. While expressing concern over the low quality of content produced by artificial intelligence, it continues to develop tools like Google's "Veo3," which relies on user-generated content, often without explicit permission, to produce more automated videos.
Can YouTube claim to protect original content while investing in tools that aim to accelerate the production of automated content?
