YouTube has never stayed for a long time.
Owned video powerhouse Google He began life as a place to upload home movies, but using early scales he transformed into user-generated MTV, giving birth to an entire universe of homemade celebrities. It has evolved in two competing directions, not only to encourage longer and more professional videos to compete with Netflix, but also to compete with shorter, shorter videos.
And it appears to be changing again. The age of AI has finally arrived on YouTube, but it could still be the most existential change.
Over the past few months, Garbage Day has tracked how various AI-generated videos have increased success on the platform, gaining more attention and space than more professional creators. Some of them seem to rely on fraudulent engagement to boost their attention, but on platforms that overrun with AI, it's worth asking if it's important.
But at the same time, some of YouTube's biggest success stories have become less and less interested in the platform, focusing efforts and promotions on places like Tiktok and Instagram. All of these suggest moments at the fork of the biggest video sites on the internet.
In May, four of the top 10 YouTube channels with the most subscribers feature AI-generated material in all videos. Not all channels use the same AI program, indicating that some channels contain elements of humanity, but none of these channels have uploaded videos created without AI.
Not all videos on these AI channels are the same, but the most successful examples tend to find themes and stick to them. They use tools like hailuo for the instantly established form of cute animals in visibly dangerous or tragic situations, like “Chick of Honor.” Others like “Masters of Prophecy” upload AI-generated music videos of songs generated by AI, and are made with Suno to evoke 80's synth nostalgia.
This is a huge change in what YouTube looks like, even just six months ago. For example, in January, the video that creates the most popular AI-powered accounts had 2.5 million subscribers and 220 million views. It was rare in the top 20 of the month. In June, the top four AI channels totaled over 23 million subscribers and 800 million views. The algorithm clearly favors AI channels, and is sufficient to have a much better view to subscription ratio.
This makes some sense. The Generic-Ai-Ai-Driven Channel fixes one core issue since YouTube started pushing more professional video content. Not all creators have the time, resources, or skills to create content on Netflix level. Google's ad revenue split doesn't exactly pay the costs associated with making a channel more professional, but AI videos are all specific standards and sometimes produce cents.
By generating such content, YouTubers can keep up with increasing demand from the platform's algorithms, especially when YouTube shorts are involved. As the definition of shorts is constantly changing to keep up with competitors like Tiktok, YouTube focuses on profitability rather than appealing to creators. Starting in March, the platform has changed its eligibility for viewing from a few seconds of watching before the video starts or starts or loops.
According to Digiday, this was done to track engagement metrics for marketers, but individual creators still see the same revenue. Meanwhile, shorts have also become a test site for many of Google's AI tools, whether you create clips with VEO or search on Google lenses. Each popular AI-filled channel uploaded at least one short in May. Like “Chick of Honor,” I uploaded the shorts completely instead of the complete video. Others have created shorter clips of videos and streams.
All this also feeds YouTube's desire for television domination. A report from Nielsen last month has maintained its highest share of all television viewing for months and has been the top streaming service for over a year. This huge share is reflected in its profits. Recent estimates show that the platform is set to surpass Disney as the world's most profitable media company. YouTube has been trying to establish itself as a competitor of streaming services for many years, showing users like Alan Chikin Chow. However, AI-generated music channels can be easily played on TV with no production costs.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan will speak on stage on Made on Pier 57's YouTube on September 18, 2024 in New York City (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) on New York City (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Masters of Prophecy is currently the fastest growing channel on all of YouTube, from hundreds of subscribers in February to over 30 million in June, with all of its content being generated by AI. But its growth appears questionable. In particular, we will consider how it started from moving from less than 300 subscribers to over 100,000 in a day, without new videos, shorts or comments. But again, what does illicit growth mean on platforms that are increasingly powered by AI and growing populations? After all, AI bots are not going to buy products from advertisers.
It's clear that YouTube doesn't want to answer that question. In many ways, it feels like they want no one to realize how popular AI content is. It's quietly misdirected and if users (and, more importantly, advertisers) don't complain, everyone is just making money.
But that also means that at some point in the near future, you will open the app and suddenly realize that there are no more people.
Garbage Day It covers a mix of memes, trends and internet dramas with an award-winning newsletter focusing on web culture and technology. It also runs a program called Garbage Intelligence, a monthly report that tracks creators and accounts rises and accounts across all major platforms on the web. Here we share some of our findings on Sherwood News. You can subscribe to this garbage day.
