A YouTube sign near the company's headquarters in San Bruno, California. [AP]
A YouTube sign near the company's headquarters in San Bruno, California. [AP]

YouTube has tightened its monetization policy to curb the spread of low-quality content mass-produced using generative AI. The platform said it will permit AI use but reward only content that reflects human creativity and accountability.

According to the information and communications technology industry on Sunday, YouTube revised its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) guidelines to improve feed quality and spelled out specific monetization standards targeting low-quality AI content.

Rather than banning AI outright, the guidelines identify three specific categories of content that will be disqualified from ad revenue.

The first covers content mechanically mass-produced using AI or computer-generated imagery (CGI), with little meaningful difference between individual videos.

The second targets distressing or emotionally manipulative content designed to chase views — staged animal rescue videos were cited as an example. Videos in this category will be excluded from the YouTube Partner Program regardless of whether AI was involved in their creation.

The third bars channels that use AI avatars modeled on real people to dispense financial investment advice, medical diagnoses or legal counsel from earning revenue through the partner program.

YouTube had earlier updated its duplicate content policy in July last year. At the time, it renamed the policy from "duplicate content" to "mass-produced content" and restricted monetization of low-quality videos bulk-generated by AI or assembled through repetitive splicing.


keg@heraldcorp.com