AI will be a “boon to creatives who are ready to lean in,” according to YouTube chief Neal Mohan. But at the same time, the video giant is taking steps to minimize the spread of low-quality AI content — aka “AI slop.”
In his annual letter to the YouTube community outlining 2026 priorities, Mohan said that on average, more than 1 million channels used YouTube’s AI creation tools daily in December. And more are coming: This year “you’ll be able to create a Short using your own likeness,” as well as produce games with a text prompt and experiment with music.
“Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement,” Mohan wrote in the letter, released Wednesday.
However, Mohan also acknowledged that the rise of AI has raised concerns about low-quality “AI slop.” Over its 20-year history, YouTube has “learned not to impose any preconceived notions on the creator ecosystem,” he wrote, noting that “once-odd trends like ASMR and watching other people play video games are mainstream hits.” That said, “with this openness comes a responsibility to maintain the high quality viewing experience that people want,” Mohan said.
To reduce the spread of low-quality AI content, YouTube is actively “building on our established systems that have been very successful in combatting spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low-quality, repetitive content,” according to Mohan.
YouTube labels content created by its AI products, and the platform requires creators to disclose when they’ve created “realistic altered or synthetic content,” Mohan noted. On top of that, YouTube removes “harmful synthetic media” that violates its Community Guidelines and is enhancing its Content ID copyright-detection system “to equip creators with new tools to manage the use of their likeness in AI-generated content.” Mohan also said that YouTube remains “committed to protecting creative integrity by supporting critical legislation like the NO FAKES Act.”
Meanwhile, there are other areas where AI “will act as a bridge between curiosity and understanding,” according to Mohan. In December 2025, more than 20 million users learned more about the content they watched through YouTube’s Ask tool, with such questions as “What’s the story behind this song’s lyrics?” or “What ingredients do I need to make this recipe?” In addition, last month YouTube averaged more than 6 million daily viewers who watched at least 10 minutes of AI-autodubbed content.
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“Ultimately, we’re focused on ensuring AI serves the people who make YouTube great: the creators, artists, partners, and billions of viewers looking to capture, experience and share a deeper connection to the world around them,” Mohan wrote.
Also in the letter, Mohan outlined other YouTube priorities for 2026. That starts with supporting YouTube creators and artists, “who are leading the way to reinvent entertainment,” he wrote.
“YouTubers are buying studio-sized lots in Hollywood and beyond to pioneer new formats and produce beautifully produced, must-see TV. The era of dismissing this content as simply ‘UGC’ [user generated content] is long over,” he wrote. “When creators hold the keys to their own production and distribution, the only limit is their imagination.”
Other details from Mohan’s letter:
- YouTube Shorts, the platform’s short-form video format, now averages 200 billion daily views. In 2026, YouTube will integrate different formats, like image posts, directly into the Shorts feed.
- YouTube TV will soon launch a “fully customizable multiview” feature, letting users watch several live channels on one screen. It also will roll out more than 10 specialized YouTube TV plans spanning sports, entertainment and news, “all designed to give subscribers more control,” according to Mohan.
- YouTube this year will make it easier for parents to set up new kid accounts and “easily switch between accounts, ensuring that everyone in the family is in the right viewing experience,” per Mohan’s letter. Last week YouTube announced updates “to strengthen and simplify parental controls, reflecting our core belief that parents – not governments – should decide what’s right for their families,” he said. Parents will soon be able to control how much time their kids spend scrolling Shorts, including setting the timer to zero (which Mohan said is an industry first).
- YouTube will “continue to invest in different ways” for creators to make money, ranging across shopping, brand deals and fan-funding features like Jewels and gifts. “We’re committed to building the most diversified economy in the world — one that turns a creator’s unique vision into a sustainable, global business,” Mohan said.
From Variety US