YouTube Will Now Label AI Slop Videos, But That Might Not Be Enough

YouTube continues to make changes to the user experience. While some of those features have made watching YouTube worse on purpose, others have proven to be genuinely helpful, like the new custom YouTube feed feature. One area that YouTube has struggled particularly, though, is with the influx of AI content. Thanks to new features like Reimagine — which let you take shorts and recreate them using AI prompts — and the influx of AI slop on the platform in general, browsing YouTube has become a minefield for those looking to find real and genuine human-driven content. But YouTube wants to fix that.

Starting in May, YouTube says that it will be adding more prominent labels to videos that feature photorealistic AI. Long-form videos, which currently have the label in the description, will now get a label just below the video player so you can more easily see it. Meanwhile, videos on YouTube Shorts will now have the label directly on the video itself. YouTube says the change is meant to provide more context for viewers at a glance.

Additionally, it will also be launching a new feature that automatically looks for signs of AI in videos. If it finds them, the system will automatically add the AI label. While many people commented on YouTube's announcement video, thanking the company for being more transparent, others argued that just adding labels isn't far enough. Creators can still mark their video as using AI manually, which has been an option since 2024.

One user even went so far as to write that they should be able to completely filter out AI videos on the platform, especially as a subscriber to YouTube Premium, which saw a price hike earlier this year. Others agreed that they should be able to add a filter to search results to hide AI videos altogether. This would make it less likely they would ever actually click on an AI video. One particular area that users seemed to agree on was that YouTube shouldn't just stop at photorealistic videos. It should also label anything that uses AI voiceovers, AI scripts, and even AI editing.

Of course, proving all of these things is another matter altogether, but users seem to think YouTube could pull it off. One user also noted that fact-checking information would be a helpful feature to add, as it would hopefully help cut down on the random AI-powered "fact channels" that use AI in everything.

At the moment, YouTube has not specified whether the labels will be something users can click on for more information. However, it would make sense for them to be. YouTube said that any creator caught in its automated system who has inaccurately been identified as using AI will be able to appeal. However, videos where C2PA metadata indicates a source deemed mostly AI, as well as videos with watermarks such as those created with Google Veo cannot be appealed.