"Repetitive, Mass AI Videos No Longer Earn Revenue"
YouTube is launching a full-scale war against low-quality, mass-produced content (so-called "AI slop") in the generative AI era. From July 15, 2025: implementing revised YouTube Partner Program (YPP) policy fundamentally blocking mass-produced repetitive content from monetization. July 2025: YouTube officially announced significant strengthening of YPP monetization policies. The core of this update: strictly strengthening standards so only "original and authentic content" can earn advertising revenue. Particularly targeted: repetitive, mass-produced content -- AI-produced low-quality/spam videos. New policy specifics: content that is not original or authentic loses monetization eligibility; accounts primarily redistributing others content are ineligible; AI-generated content that adds no original creative contribution is flagged; the definition of "original" now explicitly requires human creative input beyond simple AI generation and assembly. The AI content ecosystem problem: AI tools have enabled the production of videos at costs near zero -- text-to-video AI can produce news summaries, true crime documentaries, music compilations, and educational explainers by AI without human creative input; these videos dilute creator-produced content discovery; they create misleading or low-quality information under the guise of video content; they extract advertising revenue that creators invested real effort to earn. The legitimate AI use carve-out: YouTube explicitly states that AI tools used as creative aids (AI editing, AI music composition, AI visual effects) where humans make the core creative decisions remain eligible for monetization -- the policy targets AI content without human creative direction, not all AI-assisted content.
