YouTube has already paved the way for creators to upload AI-generated content, but its recent move will mean those YouTube videos get a more prominent “AI” label to let viewers know how they were created.

As recently as Google I/O 2026, Google announced more expansion features that allow channels to create AI content based on other creators’ works. The announcement targeted YouTube Shorts, allowing users to “remix” videos into their own creations.

According to YouTube’s latest announcement, those videos will be labeled with a more prominent “AI” label. The warning will let viewers know that the video was created – in full or in part – by AI. On long-form content, the label will be moved from the description, where it was previously hidden, to a spot above the channel icon. On Shorts, it will appear in the bottom left of the video.

It appears the label can be voluntarily applied at the time of upload. Creators will need to disclose whether the video was created using AI to edit or generate content. If the video does use AI content and it isn’t disclosed, YouTube says it’s also rolling out automatic AI detection.

YouTube says that it will look out for “significant photorealistic AI use.” If found, an AI label will be automatically applied to that YouTube video. It does appear that an automatically applied label can be removed by creators if they feel it was wrongly attributed, though there is little detail on whether or not that can be done with or without review.

If a creator thinks their content was incorrectly identified as AI-generated, they can update the disclosure status in YouTube Studio. However, disclosures will remain permanent in a handful of cases, including:

• Content created using YouTube’s own AI tools, like Veo or Dream Screen.
• Content containing C2PA metadata indicating they were fully generative AI.

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