GuidesYouTube
Rules a YouTube Automation Has to Follow
YouTube requires creators to disclose AI-generated or altered content that seems realistic. That includes a real person appearing to say or do something they did not do, altered footage of a real event or place, a realistic scene that did not occur, and music that is the main focus of the video. YouTube's own examples of things that do not need that disclosure include using AI to draft or improve a script, thumbnail, title, or infographic, and cloning your own voice for a voiceover. You make the disclosure in YouTube Studio when you upload. An automation should not publish a video you have not approved, and it should not answer the disclosure for you.
What YouTube requires
YouTube's help page, Disclosing use of GenAI content, says creators must disclose AI-generated or altered content that seems realistic. The required cases it names are: a real person appearing to say or do something they did not do, altered footage of a real event or place, a realistic scene that did not actually occur, and music that is the main focus of the video. The disclosure is the AI-use setting in YouTube Studio during upload.
YouTube also says the examples are not a complete list. The creator, not the automation, is the one who knows whether the video could mislead a viewer.
What YouTube's examples say you do not have to disclose
- Using a generative tool to create or improve an outline, a script, a thumbnail, a title, or an infographic.
- Captions.
- Idea generation.
- Cloning your own voice to create voiceovers or dubs.
- Minor visual edits such as color, blur, or sharpening.
That list is YouTube's, and YouTube says it is not exhaustive. A thumbnail that shows a real event that did not happen is not the same thing as a title suggestion.
How the automation should behave
- Stop for your approval before upload.
- Leave the AI-use question for you. A script cannot see the finished frame the way you can.
- Keep source files labeled, so you can tell a drafted thumbnail from the one you chose.
- Use visuals and audio you have the right to use. The pipeline is not a way to launder someone else's video.
- YouTube Help: Disclosing use of GenAI content
- Automation for YouTubers
- Hourly rate and custom quotes
Questions this page answers
Does every AI script need the disclosure?
YouTube's help page lists production help — an outline, a script, a thumbnail, a title, an infographic — among examples creators do not have to disclose. The same page says the list is not complete, and realistic content that could mislead a viewer does have to be disclosed. You still answer the question in YouTube Studio.
Does a clone of my own voice need the disclosure?
YouTube lists cloning your own voice for voiceovers or dubs as an example that does not require disclosure. A voice that makes a real person appear to say something they did not say is in the list that does. If you are unsure, disclose.
Will disclosing AI stop the video earning money?
YouTube's help page says disclosing AI content alone will not limit a video's audience or its eligibility to earn money. Consistently failing to disclose when a disclosure is required can lead to a label, removal, or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program.
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