On Wednesday, September 18, in New York, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan took the stage at the Made on YouTube event to introduce a suite of innovative AI tools designed to empower creators on the platform.
These cutting-edge tools, ranging from AI-driven inspiration to AI-powered video generators, are intended to support creators at every stage of their creative journey. Mohan emphasized AI's potential to further YouTube's mission of being "the ultimate haven for creators" and assured creators that the platform will build upon its "proven track record of responsibility." Notably, 92 percent of creators are already leveraging AI tools. The new features will be rolled out to creators in the coming months and by early 2025. For more information on the latest YouTube updates, visit carsnewstoday.
Johanna Voolich, YouTube's chief of product, revealed that the team prioritized the entire creative lifecycle when developing these products. Here's a breakdown of the tools that were announced:
Revolutionizing Content Creation with Veo
The most significant announcement of the event was Veo, a groundbreaking feature that generates six-second AI-powered video clips tailored for YouTube Shorts, the platform's TikTok rival. Powered by Google's DeepMind technology, Veo utilizes text prompts to produce clips.
Following a demonstration by Joe Ano, the creator and fashion designer behind Ella Emhoff's Democratic National Convention dress, where he used Veo to generate dresses in motion, Sarah Ali, senior director of product, addressed potential criticisms of the feature by stating, "[Veo] only works because of Joe's creative vision." Other demonstrations included an AI-generated video of a dog and sheep forming an unlikely friendship.
Veo Shorts will be watermarked with SynthID, ensuring that AI-generated content is clearly labeled. "Over time, how people perceive this may evolve, but for now, we want to maintain that level of transparency so viewers can make their own judgments about what they're watching," Voolich explained.
The launch of Veo comes on the heels of other platforms introducing AI-generated video capabilities, such as OpenAI's Sora.
Creative Spark Tab
YouTube is revolutionizing the content creation process with the introduction of the Creative Spark tab, an innovative, AI-powered hub designed to assist creators in conceptualizing video ideas, titles, thumbnails, and outlines. This feature will also incorporate user comments, leveraging the collective wisdom of the community to spark inspiration, with no option for users to opt out of their comments being used. As Voolich noted, "The essence of YouTube's success lies in the symbiotic relationship between creators and viewers – creators share their content, while viewers contribute their engagement and feedback."
Users are already experiencing the benefits of what Voolich refers to as the "invisible AI." "This is the AI technology we've been harnessing for years to develop our search and recommendation systems," she explained. "It's the AI that powers your home feed and up-next suggestions, providing a personalized experience tailored to your preferences."
Nurturing Audience Connections
YouTube is also utilizing AI to help creators build stronger bonds with their audiences. The tool will identify key commenters, display creators' "profile cards" and past comments, and provide AI-driven reply suggestions that mirror the creator's tone and style.
Additionally, YouTube has introduced "Communities," a feature inspired by Substack's Chat, which enables creators to share content directly with their audiences, while viewers can share their own photos and text posts. This new feature is designed to foster a sense of community and encourage more meaningful interactions.
Furthermore, YouTube is launching "Hype," a feature that allows viewers to support their favorite up-and-coming creators by suggesting that their videos be promoted to a broader audience. The tool gamifies liking a creator and will only be available for videos posted within the last 7 days by a creator with 5,000 subscribers or less. Users will receive a limited number of Hypes per week, but the platform is exploring the sale of additional Hypes as a new revenue stream for creators.
Auto-Dubbing
By harnessing the power of AI, YouTube is transforming automatically-generated captions into high-quality dubbing in multiple languages. A feature called "expressive speech" aims to make the dubbing as close to the original speech as possible by mimicking tone, pitch, and ambient noise. This innovative feature will be rolled out to 100,000s of creators in the coming months.
In other news, YouTube is expanding its rewards for livestreaming by introducing a model similar to TikTok and Twitch, where viewers can gift creators. It will also allow creators to categorize their videos into Seasons and Episodes, as more people watch YouTube on television screens and YouTubers strive to win Emmy Awards.