YouTube monetization update: What creators need to know as ‘AI slop’ overwhelms the platform

YouTube is cracking down on “mass-produced” and “repetitive” content. The Google-owned video-sharing platform has released additional guidance for its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) in response to the growing popularity of AI-generated videos. 

“In order to monetize as part of the YPP, YouTube has always required creators to upload ‘original’ and ‘authentic’ content,” the update states. “YouTube is updating our guidelines to better identify mass-produced and repetitious content. This update better reflects what ‘inauthentic’ content looks like today.” The update comes into effect on Tuesday, July 15. 

How much AI is too much?

However, the announcement was met with concern from some creators over whether any AI use would demonetize a video.

Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s head of editorial and creator liaison, released a video in an effort to put some of these worries to bed. Ritchie called the update “minor,” explaining that it should help with identifying unwanted content.

“This type of content has already been ineligible for monetization for years, and its content viewers often consider spam,” he added.  

YouTube is in a unique position when it comes to AI. Its parent company, Alphabet, is backing a series of AI initiatives, benefiting from AI’s widespread use. It runs the Google AI Studio and develops AI models such as the Gemini series.

At the same time, Alphabet has to acknowledge not only the downsides of AI, but its potential to overwhelm platforms that rely on user-generated content—in other words, rein in instances of repetitive, inauthentic slop created with the very technologies that it’s investing so heavily in.