Improving AI labels for viewers and creators

Introducing automatic AI detection

While we still require creators to manually disclose when they use realistic AI, we want to make the process smoother and more reliable. Starting in May 2026, we will introduce new internal signals to identify AI-generated content.

If a creator does not indicate whether or not they have used AI, but our systems detect significant use of photorealistic AI, we will now automatically apply a label.

As this technology continues to improve, creators remain in control. If a creator believes their content has been incorrectly identified as AI-generated, they can update the disclosure status in YouTube Studio. However, in a few cases the disclosures remain permanent, including:

• Content created using YouTube’s own AI tools such as Veo or Dream Screen.
• Content that contains C2PA metadata indicating that it is fully generative AI.