YouTube is making it easier to bring ideas to life with new AI tools for YouTube Shorts.
YouTube’s new AI tools are making Shorts creation easier, faster, and with a bit more fun
YouTube is rolling out three new generative AI features designed to help you spark ideas and give you a creative boost on Shorts. The tools are available in select countries, with more regions coming soon.
Let’s break them down:
Turn a photo into a short video
Creators can now turn any picture from their camera roll into a 6-second video, thanks to YouTube Shorts new image-to-video feature. The process is easy: select your image, choose from the ideas suggested, and that’s it.
YouTube showed off an example where a pedestrian crossing sign was turned into a dancing character. It’s a fun way to breathe new life and personality into static images.
The feature is rolling out for free over the coming week. It will initially be available to users in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, before launching in more regions later this year.
New AI-powered effects
New AI effects in the Shorts camera can now transform basic doodles or selfies into creative, animated visuals. One of YouTube’s demos turns a selfie into an underwater swimming clip. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it does add a little fun.
To find these:
Open up the Shorts camera.Find and tap the Effects✨icon.Click on AI to browse the generative effects.
Expect this to roll out over the next few weeks, with no specific regions confirmed.
Explore the AI playground for fresh ideas
If you’re short on ideas, YouTube Shorts’ AI playground is designed to help. Tap the “Create” button and look for the sparkle icon in the top-right corner. From there, you’ll find prompts and examples to quickly generate content, including images, music, and video clips.
Just like the image-to-video feature, this tool is available now for users in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with more regions to follow.
Powered by Google’s generative Veo models
These new tools are built on Google’s Veo 2 model, which can generate visuals content with fairly realistic accuracy and style. The announcement of these features also follow Veo 3’s upcoming arrival to Shorts, which is set to unlock AI video and audio generation capabilities “later this summer”.
The bigger picture
While these features make it easier for creators, it’s no secret that AI content has its critics. There are concerns that tools like these could only continue to flood Shorts with AI slop (AI-generated content that is generic, low-quality and low-value).
YouTube is seemingly aware of these concerns, and it’s reminding creators that “unique creativity is what truly makes Shorts shine!” This highlights how creators should be encouraged to use these tools to enhance their ideas, not simply replace their originality.
To keep things transparent, YouTube will be marking content made with these tools with SynthID watermarks and clear labels so viewers know when something is AI-generated.
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