YouTube is demonetizing certain types of AI content on its platform. The second-most visited website in the world announced an update to its YouTube Partner Program payment policy that takes a hammer to channels trying to leverage AI slop to make a buck.
The Official Demonetization Update...Update
YouTube will officially update the guidelines on July 15th, but a recent notification suggests the policy update will be minor to most creators while effectively ending the monetization dreams of people who don't want to try very hard. "In order to monetize as part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), YouTube has always required creators to upload 'original' and 'authentic' content," the notice states. "On July 15, 2025, YouTube is updating our guidelines to better identify mass-produced and repetitious content. This update better reflects what 'inauthentic' content looks like today."
YouTube Insider Rene Ritchie also posted a Short telling creators who make reaction channels etc. not to worry. "Here's the deal," Ritche says. "This is a minor update to YouTube's longstanding [YouTube Partner Program] policies to help better identify when content is mass-produced or repetitive. This type of content has already been ineligible for monetization for years, and its content viewers often consider spam. That's it. That's all."
We'll have to wait to see what the actual updated guidelines say, but it sure sounds like there's just more clarification specifically around AI content. Similar to other platforms suffering from a deluge of AI content, YouTube has seen its fair number of groans from both longtime creators and general users as mass-produced AI content slowly drags down the reliability of content on the platform.
What Type Of Content Is Affected
Presumably, some users were worried that if they used any form of AI in their content — or if they consistently only make one type of video — they would be demonetized. However, it certainly seems like YouTube's update will be less of a broad stroke and more of an application specific to channels that run seemingly only AI-generated and mass-produced content.
One good example of this includes clip-based channels, which largely just paste together stolen clips from other sources along with AI footage, and then have an AI-generated voiceover thrown over the top. This type of content has been popping up at a break-neck pace in every niche from sports to tech to healthcare and lifestyle tips.
However, if you're simply using various types of generative AI as part of a larger piece of your content, you likely don't have much to fear in terms of demonetization. As long as the majority of the content feels original, authentic, and human, it seems YouTube has no interest in removing you from the YouTube Partner Program.
Why Removing AI Slop Matters
The YouTube Partner Program is already quite difficult to get into. However, it's also one of the most lucrative of the programs paying creators specifically for the views their content generates. And similar to other platforms, at least some parts of the money YouTube pays out to creators comes from a pool of revenue generated by things like ads.
And, similar to other social media content platforms, volume can be a critical component to YouTube monetization. While some channels get away with only one well-produced video per month, many more opt for releasing a few nicer quality but clearly not "professional" videos per month. And then there are channel that just try to upload as much as possible because, well, they're likely not even creating much of the content.
This is where these AI channels come in. By essentially mixing in stolen footage with AI-generated footage and voiceovers, these channels can upload many more videos than normal creators. That allows them to receive the subscribers and watch time necessary much quicker, based solely on sheer volume.
However, if it becomes clear there's no monetization future for these channels, it make dissuade others from wasting their "credits" or whatever to make videos.
However, it doesn't remove the monetization options completely. Channels can still make AI slop videos off things like tech or wellness products and include affiliate links in the description. These videos may not earn money from YouTube directly, but they still have an opportunity to get a lot of eyes on affiliate links.
Will More Platforms Follow Suit?
With any luck, YouTube specifically addressing AI-generated content in its demonetization policies could encourage other platforms to do the same. Right now, most of the policies on AI content are pretty loose (like on Spotify, for instance). YouTube has always said content needs to be original and authentic, but naming AI-generated content specifically would be a much-needed win for creators.
Not to mention, users have pretty overwhelmingly decried AI content in their feeds (hence Ritchie pointing out that most users already consider this spam). This could lead to more platforms taking a hard stance not just against identifying AI content, but actively making sure people can't turn it into revenue. If people start leaving platforms because they don't want to watch garbage, those platforms will need to win their trust back somehow.
Then again, it may also be a bit of "tail wagging the dog" — after all, almost all of the major social media platforms or the companies that own them have invested heavily into generative AI with no real clear goal in sight.