YouTube will now automatically flag videos as AI-generated when its internal systems detect that significant photorealistic AI was used, rather than relying on creators to self-disclose. Labels are being moved below the video player on long-form videos and overlaid on Shorts, and they will be permanently attached to content carrying C2PA provenance metadata.
What is changing
AI labels have existed on YouTube for more than two years, introduced alongside a policy that required creators to flag content that could be mistaken for a real person, place, or event. Creators did not have to label videos that obviously depicted imaginative or animated scenarios, such as a unicorn in a fantastical landscape.
The policy itself has not changed. What is new is that YouTube will use new internal signals to identify AI-generated content and label it on the creator’s behalf when disclosure is missing. Creators whose content is misidentified can update the disclosure status on a video, but they cannot remove labels tied to content made with YouTube’s own AI tools, including Veo and Dream Screen.
Where will the labels appear?
YouTube is also repositioning the labels to make them harder to miss. Previously, labels appeared in the expanded description by default, with a more prominent label only on videos touching sensitive topics like health or news.
Now, labels will appear directly below the video player and above the description for long-form videos, and overlaid on YouTube Shorts. Videos that contain only minor AI alterations, animation, or unrealistic content will continue to show the label in the expanded description only.
Why are some labels permanent?
Labels will be permanently attached to videos that carry C2PA metadata indicating the content was fully AI-generated. C2PA is a content provenance standard that several major AI companies have committed to, with OpenAI joining Nvidia, Kakao, and ElevenLabs as recent adopters.
Will AI labels affect recommendations or revenue?
YouTube has stated that AI labels will not affect how a video is recommended or its ability to monetize. The labels are positioned as a transparency measure rather than a distribution or revenue penalty.
What is the broader context?
The move comes shortly after the expansion of YouTube’s AI deepfake detection, which now allows any adult to scan YouTube for face matches, after earlier tests with celebrities, public figures, politicians, and other creators.
It also follows Google’s release of Gemini Omni, a multimodal AI model family introduced at Google I/O that can output high-quality videos reflecting an understanding of physics, culture, history, and science. The broader context is a steady increase in the realism of what generative video tools can produce, which puts more pressure on platforms to verify provenance at scale.
What should creators do?
- Continue to disclose AI use, since the new automatic system acts as a backstop, not a replacement.
- Know that labels tied to C2PA metadata on fully AI-generated content cannot be removed.
- Know that labels on content made with Veo or Dream Screen cannot be removed either.
- Correct misidentifications through the disclosure status on the video.
YouTube’s broader investment in AI continues across the product, including its interactive search feature Ask YouTube, a playlist generator for YouTube Music, and AI video summaries, alongside the generative creation tools that the new labeling policy will also cover.
Related coverage
Run a free scan to see your AI Visibility Score, SEO rating, and local citation accuracy.