YouTube is using AI to edit videos without telling anyone – secret experiment inside Google revealed
YouTube is actively editing YouTube Shorts videos in an experimental project
|GETTY IMAGES
YouTube creators are not happy about it
- YouTube is using AI to edit videos once uploaded
- This is limited to YouTube Shorts
- The platform confirmed its part of an experiment to improve its videos
- Creators are not happy about the new feature
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YouTube is editing creators' videos without their knowledge ...and they're not happy about it.
The video platform appears to be using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tweak videos posted on YouTube, sharpening and adjusting the appearance of clips. For now, the unannounced experiment seems to be limited to YouTube Shorts, which specialises in short-form clips similar to Instagram Reels or TikTok on the popular video website. No AI editing has been noticed on the longer-form videos that YouTube is best known for.
Viewers and creators flagged the AI edits after spotting a slew of differences in the quality of their videos. They've spotted “extra punchy shadows,” “weirdly sharp edges,” and an air-brushed feature where they say it looks “like plastic.”
A YouTube creator named Mr. Bravo was particularly displeased when he found out his content was being altered without his consent. In a post on Reddit, he stated: "Recently, I noticed that after uploading a short on YouTube, it became automatically AI upscaled, to the point where a ton of post-processing and weird effects were added that made the video completely different to what was originally uploaded.
"It appears that this feature cannot be disabled, and I haven’t found a way to have this feature turned off. It is ridiculous that YouTube can add features like this that completely change the content of what is uploaded."
Many may assume that this is the work of generative AI, but it appears to be only small fixes to enhance the content. If you're unfamiliar, generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that creates new or original content consisting of images, text, audio, video, or computer code.
This is taught to AI platforms by using existing content.
Another YouTuber, Rhett Shull, posted a video to explain what has happened with YouTube Shorts. He believed that "AI upscaling" was used instead, which is where an image or video's resolution or detail is increased.
YouTube's head of editorial and creator liaison, Rene Ritchie, wrote a statement on X: "No GenAI, no upscaling. We're running an experiment on select YouTube Shorts that uses traditional machine learning technology to unblur, denoise, and improve clarity in videos during processing (similar to what a modern smartphone does when you record a video)."
He said this is a way for the platform to "provide the best quality and experience possible."
No GenAI, no upscaling. We're running an experiment on select YouTube Shorts that uses traditional machine learning technology to unblur, denoise, and improve clarity in videos during processing (similar to what a modern smartphone does when you record a video)
— YouTube Liaison (@YouTubeInsider) August 20, 2025
YouTube is always… https://t.co/vrojrRGwNw
YouTube creators are concerned about how viewers will perceive their content in the future.
Mr Shull stated in his video, "I think it’s gonna lead people to think that I am using AI to create my videos. Or that it’s been deepfaked. Or that I’m cutting corners somehow. It will inevitably erode viewers’ trust in my content."
Deception or fake content has been a rising concern with AI. This is due to the possibility of widespread misinformation. While it may not be the creator's intention to post false content, AI platforms have made mistakes in the past. This happens because AI pulls other relevant sources from the internet to generate its content without a foolproof fact-checking system in place.
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YouTube isn't the only platform dipping into AI use.
Meta launched AI Studio in September 2023 — a platform that allows creators to make and customise their own "AI chatbots" or "AI characters". They can be designed and used for different purposes, such as extending your social media presence, creating content, or using them to provide information.
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