YouTube to Allow Creators Generate Shorts Using Personal AI Avatars.

YouTube Shorts viewers may soon encounter AI-generated versions of their favorite creators while scrolling through their feeds. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced this week that creators will soon have the ability to produce Shorts using their own digital likeness.

"This year, you'll be able to create a Short using your own likeness, develop games with a simple text prompt, and experiment with music," Mohan stated in his annual letter. "Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for creative expression, not a replacement for it."

Shorts, which Mohan reports now averages 200 billion daily views, is one of YouTube's most popular formats. The company continues to invest heavily in Shorts to maintain its massive viewership. While YouTube has not shared further specifics about the digital likeness feature, this new capability will join the platform's existing suite of AI tools for Shorts, which includes generating AI clips, AI stickers, AI auto-dubbing, and more.

According to Mohan, YouTube will also provide creators with new tools to control how their likeness is used in AI-generated content.

While YouTube will enable creators to feature their own digital likeness in videos, the Google-owned platform recently introduced technology to prevent unauthorized use by others. Last October, YouTube deployed likeness-detection technology for eligible creators to identify AI-generated content that features their face or voice. Creators can then request the removal of such content.

Like other social platforms, YouTube has had to address the proliferation of low-quality AI content. Mohan says the company is actively working to preserve a high-quality viewing experience.

"Over the past two decades, we've learned not to impose preconceived notions on the creator ecosystem," Mohan wrote. "Today, once-niche trends like ASMR and watching others play video games are mainstream successes. But with this openness comes a responsibility to maintain the high-quality viewing experience our audience expects. To reduce the spread of poor-quality AI content, we're actively enhancing our established systems, which have been highly effective in combating spam and clickbait, and minimizing repetitive, low-quality content."

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YouTube also plans to expand Shorts with new formats, including image posts, a feature already widely popular on TikTok and Instagram Reels.