The Truth About AI: Can YouTube Automation Ruin Your Channel?

If you're reading this, you've probably heard that YouTube automation is the best thing since the internet itself. There are stories of creators making $10,000 monthly by outsourcing the creative work for their channel, including video scripts, thumbnails, editing, or sometimes the actual videos!

And best of all? The creator doesn't have to do anything. They don't appear in the videos or lift a finger in the process.

This is nothing new, of course. YouTubers have outsourced their work for years and will continue to do so in the future. The only thing that's changing is how they do it. Many are choosing artificial intelligence, and there are two types of people in the AI world:

• Those who use AI to aid their content creation
• Those who use AI to replace content creation

Is there any danger in using AI? It all depends! If you want to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and make money, you could hit a few roadblocks.

Is Your Content 100% AI? Getting Monetized Will Be Tough

A popular question floating around the internet today is, "Can AI videos get monetized on YouTube?" The short answer is yes, they can! However, YouTube has clear rules about using AI responsibly in your content. And one of the biggest rules is actually a warning, in which YouTube says channels with redundant, machine-generated content won't get monetized.

But don't panic: The keyword here is redundant. YouTube has an AdSense program policy (AdSense is the program that pays creators), and it states that:

"Channels consisting of similar content, where videos are only slightly different from one another, are not eligible for monetization."

Source: YouTube Help

So if you're going full speed ahead with YouTube automation, remember to mix things up. Let AI be your helper, not the star of the show.

'Rain Sound' Videos: An Example of Automation Gone Too Far

Have you seen those rain sound videos on YouTube? That's a good example of repetitive, mass-produced content. Many of those videos have the same thumbnail, the same thunderstorm audio on repeat, and, most of the time, the same title.

In the AdSense policy, YouTube describes videos like these as "mindless" and "low educational." It also says that "templated, mass-produced, or programmatically-generated content" cannot make money.

So, in other words, YouTube won't monetize videos that are all "machine" and have no human spark. If your content is 100% AI (and redundant!), it may fall into that category.

How YouTube Reviews Your Channel for Monetization

If you plan to join the YPP with an automated channel, you should know how the review process works.

One surprising detail is that real humans review your channel. They'll check some key areas, including:

• The main topic of your content
• Your latest videos
• Your most-viewed videos
• Videos with the most watch time
• Video titles, thumbnails, and descriptions

Source: YouTube Help

But what is YouTube looking for? Reviewers mostly check for community guideline violations — hate speech, spam, graphic content, etc. But regarding AI and YouTube automation, they may check your most popular videos for signs of mass production or overly-templated content.

How to Use AI and Still Get Monetized on YouTube

By now, you're probably wondering, What can I do on YouTube regarding AI? After all, we're not saying you can't use it in any part of the process; we encourage it! Here at vidIQ, we make a bunch of AI tools to help streamline your workflow:

• AI Content Generator: Get a content plan for your next video, including a title and description, keywords, video script, thumbnail backgrounds, and voice-over.
• AI Coach: Talk to our AI-powered chatbot to analyze your channel's performance, suggest your next video, and more.
• AI Title Generator: Get a catchy YouTube title to make your video stand out.
• Daily Ideas: Receive up to 50 daily video ideas for your channel.

AI should make creating easier, not replace it altogether. You don't want to generate a bunch of videos with no warmth, depth, or transformative information. Humans will watch your videos, so create videos for the emotional complexity humans crave!

In other words…

Please record that awesome YouTube challenge. Just remember that an AI video editor can help you process it faster.

Go ahead and make that long-form video. If you want, plenty of AI tools will turn the best clip into a YouTube Short.

And if nothing else, let this quote from our senior executive producer guide you:

"The moral of the story is that creators who use AI to aid in content creation instead of fully automating it are going to win," says Dan Carson.

Watch the video below to learn more about AI, YouTube automation, and how to navigate the two, according to Dan.

All set in that area? No problem!

Here's how to build a success mindset for YouTube, whether your channel is automated or not.