The Writer's Life: YouTube to Label AI-Produced and Mostly-AI Videos: What Creators and Viewers Need to Know

 

I think we all know by now that AI is rapidly changing the way content is created online, and nowhere is this more obvious than on YouTube. Every day we see AI-generated video, voiceovers, and virtual presenters. Creators now have a choice of tools that can produce content faster than ever before.

The AI “Faceless” creator channel revolution is now producing tens of thousands of videos, both long and short, every day. And YouTube has been swamped by what has been labelled ‘AI slop’. An endless diet of very repeatable, low-quality content, which often has very little input from the creator. The algorithm then sends this content as recommendations that many would rather not see.

When it comes to AI on YouTube, it would be nice to have a choice.

In response to this, the platform is about to introduce new measures designed to help viewers identify when AI has played a significant role in creating a video. They have announced that creators will be required in future to disclose when their content has been altered or generated using AI. Videos produced by AI will be clearly labelled.

I would say, ‘About time.’ For viewers, it offers greater transparency. And while it has to be said that many AI videos are pretty obvious, it would be good to know beforehand that what you are about to watch is AI or not.

Why Is YouTube Introducing AI Labels?

The rise of AI has brought both an opportunity and also a concern. AI tools can help creators in many ways, but they can also be used to create misleading content. AI-generated footage can make it difficult for some viewers to distinguish between genuine and AI-created material.

The Writer's Life: The Future of AI and the Creative World - Get Ready for a Rocky Ride

 

At the moment, all of my books are available as an ebook and can be downloaded from Amazon. At some point in the future, I would like to make them available elsewhere, and also as a paperback. Ebooks are said to be popular, but I have found it difficult to gain traction on Amazon. 

Amazon does offer the plus of being the biggest bookseller in the world. The minus is that your book is on the same platform as millions of others, easily lost, and never found. And despite the contemporary popularity, and curse of doom-scrolling, no one is going to scroll down hundreds, or even thousands, of pages to find your book.

I have concluded that on Amazon, most authors are invisible.

Increasingly, that is because of AI.

Reports suggest that most books being published today are AI. And not just on Amazon. Even worse, I suspect that most of them fall into the ‘AI slop’ category. It is also widely believed that most of these books come from writers who self-publish, with the hope of cashing in.

No one should be surprised about this.

The Great Creator Squeeze: Why Platforms Are Paying Less and the War Against AI Slop

 

For many years, the idea of earning a living online was simple: create content, grow an audience, and be blessed by the algorithm. Making money online was possible, and for a while it looked too easy. In reality, it was still hard work, but getting there could happen if you put in the time and effort.

Now, everything seems to be changing, and fast. Across platforms, creators are facing stricter monetisation rules. This can be seen in falling payouts, and an increased risk of demonetisation.

I noticed it firsthand when Medium slashed writer earnings from the beginning of 2025, and they haven’t recovered. They had problems from late 2024, and the new year began with lower earnings and a purge of writers who were not all that they seemed. AI writing might have had something to do with it.

Meanwhile, creators at Facebook have recently reported and complained about much-reduced payouts.

But the big change seems to be what is happening at YouTube.

So, what’s going on?

Most days in my YouTube recommendations, I will see videos from creators who have been demonetised or banned. Others report lower views and payments. Some say that payments have fallen, although view count is the same.

YouTube has tightened its policies around AI and the use of “reused” content. They are cracking down on “inauthentic” content. In recent months, the platform has stepped up action against AI-generated content that has little input from the creator.

Videos that are:

• Inauthentic
• Repetitive or produced from templates.
• Mass-produced.
• Reusing content without making significant changes.
• Or 100% AI.

All are being targeted and removed when found.

Content that falls into these categories is increasingly being demonetised, with channels being removed from the Partner Program entirely.

But is it just about the use of AI?

Some who have been banned claim that they are not using AI at all to create their videos. But even on appeal, they remain banned. And many very popular AI-produced video channels with millions of views have been demonetised and banned.

Is it a ban on AI?