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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Altered or Synthetic Content
YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic AI-generated or meaningfully altered content by setting "AI use" to Yes under Attributes when uploading. The label does not limit reach or monetization, but repeatedly hiding AI use can.
To disclose AI on YouTube, set AI use to Yes in the Attributes section while uploading in YouTube Studio (Disclosing use of GenAI content): it is required when a video shows something realistic that a viewer could mistake for real but that was generated or meaningfully altered, such as a real person saying words they never said or an event that never happened. YouTube then adds a label, on the player for AI music and photorealistic footage or in the expanded description for other AI content. Disclosing does not by itself limit a video's audience or its ability to earn; repeatedly failing to disclose can bring a label applied by YouTube, removal or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program.
Quick facts
| Where to disclose | Upload > Attributes > AI use > Yes |
| Required since | Mar 18, 2024 (the disclosure tool's launch) |
| Label on the player | AI music, photorealistic AI content |
| Label in the description | Non-music AI audio, non-photorealistic or animated AI content |
| Effect on reach and money | None from disclosure alone |
| Penalties for hiding it | Manual label, removal, Partner Program suspension |
| As of | Nov 6, 2026 |
Sources: Disclosing use of GenAI content, YouTube Help; How we're helping creators disclose altered or synthetic content, YouTube Official Blog.
When do I have to disclose AI on YouTube?
Disclose when realistic content is generated or meaningfully altered with AI or other tools. YouTube Help's examples (Disclosing use of GenAI content):
- A realistic depiction of a real person doing or saying something they did not, such as a public figure shown stealing or a real person being arrested.
- Altered footage of real events or places, or AI-generated extra footage of a real place.
- A realistic scene that did not happen, such as a storm moving toward a real city.
- AI-generated music.
What does not need disclosure?
Content that is clearly unrealistic, and edits that are mainly cosmetic and do not mislead viewers about what happened. Help lists beauty and color filters, captions, upscaling and audio repair, cloning your own voice for voiceovers or dubs, video game footage, and AI used behind the scenes for a script, a title or a thumbnail (Disclosing use of GenAI content).
How do I disclose AI content when uploading?
- In YouTube Studio, start an upload (on a computer or the mobile app) and fill in the details.
- Go to the Attributes section.
- Under AI use, choose Yes if the video contains realistic AI-generated or altered content, or No if it does not.
- Finish and publish.
Source: Disclosing use of GenAI content, YouTube Help.
When the tool launched on Mar 18, 2024, the question was labeled "Altered content" under "Show more" in the video details, which is how older guides, George Vanous's notes among them, describe it. It was offered first in YouTube Studio on the web, with the mobile upload flow to follow.
The labels
AI music and photorealistic AI content may get a label on the video player itself; non-music AI audio and non-photorealistic or animated AI content may get one in the expanded description instead. YouTube can also add a label on its own: to content made with YouTube's generative AI tools, to content carrying C2PA metadata that says it was made with AI, and to content its systems detect, with a notice in YouTube Studio. A creator can usually remove an automatic label by answering "No" in the disclosure question, but not on content made with YouTube's own AI tools, content with C2PA metadata, or content labeled after a manual review (Disclosing use of GenAI content). The opposite label, "Captured with a camera", appears for footage recorded with C2PA 2.1 or later tools and left unedited; its absence does not mean a video was altered (Building trust on YouTube: 'Captured with a camera' disclosure).
When disclosure launched in Mar 2024, Jennifer Flannery O'Connor, YouTube's VP of Product Management for Trust and Safety, told Creator Insider that most disclosures would show in the expanded description and that a label on the player itself was kept for videos on more sensitive topics. Help now ties the player label to AI music and photorealistic content instead.
Can I monetize AI content on YouTube?
Yes, if it meets the usual rules: disclosure alone does not affect eligibility to earn (Disclosing use of GenAI content). What does affect it is the Partner Program's inauthentic content policy, which since Jul 15, 2025 names AI-generated content made with generic or unoriginal templates, giving the impression of mass production, as ineligible, and which bars AI personas posing as human experts on health, legal, financial or political advice from earning (Inauthentic and Reused Content). In a 2026 Creator Insider explainer, YouTube described the same rules in three buckets instead of the catchall "inauthentic content": generic, repetitive content made from templates, off-putting or distressing content, and AI personas talking about sensitive topics such as finance, law or health care, and it said the underlying policy had not changed. George, who runs the Freedom! network, puts it simply in his notes: AI-generated content can be monetized if it is disclosed.
Likeness: when someone uses your face or voice
A person shown realistically by AI without consent can ask YouTube to remove it through the privacy complaint process. Creators can also use likeness detection, an experimental tool for channel owners and managers over 18 who verify their identity with a government ID and a short selfie video: in YouTube Studio, Content detection > Likeness > Start now sets it up, and matches appear under For review, where a creator can submit a likeness removal request (judged through the privacy process, with parody and satire weighed), a copyright removal request, or archive the match. It matches faces only for now, and YouTube says it plans to add voices in 2026 (Likeness detection on YouTube).
What creators say
In a Dec 10, 2025 vidIQ video, Rob Wilson tested likeness detection by uploading a minute of AI clips of himself, made with Sora 2 and Veo 3, to an unrelated channel; three days later the tool had flagged the whole video. He had expected it to fail and said it did what it promised, though that is one creator's test.
His complaint was the other half: the uploader had not answered the altered content question, so the video carried no AI label for viewers even though YouTube's systems had matched his face. He argued the question should be mandatory, and that a creator confirming a likeness match should be able to force a label.
Most of his early matches were real footage of him, such as a subscribe animation reused in someone else's video, not AI. For those the only choices were a likeness removal request, meant for altered content, a more serious copyright removal request, or archiving the match, and he missed a way to simply ask the uploader to take it down.
Frequently asked questions
How do I disclose AI on a YouTube video? In YouTube Studio, while uploading, go to the Attributes section and set AI use to Yes. It is required for realistic content that was generated or meaningfully altered with AI.
Does disclosing AI hurt my YouTube views or earnings? No. YouTube Help says disclosing AI use alone does not limit a video's audience or affect its eligibility to earn money; the usual monetization policies still apply.
Do I need to disclose AI thumbnails or scripts on YouTube? No. Using AI to help write a script, title or thumbnail, or to add captions, filters or upscaling, does not need disclosure on YouTube; only realistic generated or altered content does.
Can I remove YouTube's AI label? Usually, if YouTube added it automatically, by answering No in the disclosure question. Labels on content made with YouTube's AI tools, content with C2PA metadata, or content labeled after manual review cannot be removed.
What happens if I don't disclose AI content on YouTube? Creators who repeatedly fail to disclose may get a label added by YouTube, have content removed or be suspended from the YouTube Partner Program.
Can I monetize AI-generated videos on YouTube? Yes, if they meet the YouTube Partner Program rules. Mass-produced AI content made from generic templates counts as inauthentic content and cannot earn.
Sources
- Disclosing use of GenAI content, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Building trust on YouTube: 'Captured with a camera' disclosure, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Likeness detection on YouTube, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- YouTube channel monetization policies, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Helping Creators Disclose Altered or Synthetic Content, Creator Insider, Mar 29, 2024 (video)
- YouTube's Inauthentic Content Policy, Explained, Creator Insider, Jul 16, 2026 (video)
- Likeness Detection on YouTube, YouTube Creators, Dec 11, 2025 (video)
- I Tested YouTube's New AI Likeness Detection, vidIQ, Dec 10, 2025 (video)
- How we're helping creators disclose altered or synthetic content, YouTube Official Blog, Mar 18, 2024
Moments
Helping Creators Disclose Altered or Synthetic Content
Creator Insider
- To disclose AI on YouTube, set AI use to Yes in the Attributes section while uploading in YouTube Studio (Disclosing…
- Disclose when realistic content is generated or meaningfully altered with AI or other tools. YouTube Help's examples…
- Content that is clearly unrealistic, and edits that are mainly cosmetic and do not mislead viewers about what…
- When the tool launched on Mar 18, 2024, the question was labeled "Altered content" under "Show more" in the video…
- When disclosure launched in Mar 2024, Jennifer Flannery O'Connor, YouTube's VP of Product Management for Trust and…
YouTube's Inauthentic Content Policy - Explained!
Creator Insider
Likeness Detection on YouTube
YouTube Creators
I Tested YouTube's New AI Likeness Detection-Here's What Happened
vidIQ
- In a Dec 10, 2025 vidIQ video, Rob Wilson tested likeness detection by uploading a minute of AI clips of himself, made…
- His complaint was the other half: the uploader had not answered the altered content question, so the video carried no…
- Most of his early matches were real footage of him, such as a subscribe animation reused in someone else's video, not…
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Copyright StrikesA YouTube copyright strike comes when a video is removed after a legal takedown request. It expires after 90 days once you complete Copyright School, and three active strikes put the channel up for termination.
See also
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YouTube Partner ProgramThe YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is how creators earn from YouTube. Ads need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days; fan funding and Shopping open earlier, at 500 subscribers. New applicants need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views from Feb 1, 2027.
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Inauthentic and Reused ContentYouTube does not pay for mass-produced, templated or repetitive videos (inauthentic content, called repetitious content before Jul 15, 2025) or for other people's material reposted without meaningful changes (reused content). Both are judged across the whole channel, even with the owner's permission.
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Age RestrictionAn age-restricted YouTube video can only be watched by viewers who are signed in and 18 or older, mostly not on other websites, and it may earn limited or no ads. Creators can restrict their own videos or appeal YouTube's restriction in YouTube Studio.
- AI Training SettingYouTube's third-party training setting, in YouTube Studio's channel settings, lets a creator allow outside companies to train AI models on their public videos. It is off by default, you pick companies or allow all, and it does not cover Google's own training.
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Channel TerminationYouTube terminates a channel for three strikes in 90 days, repeated violations, one case of severe abuse or a channel dedicated to breaking a policy. You can appeal in YouTube Studio within a year, twice, and a pilot lets some terminated creators ask for a new channel after a year.
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Community Guidelines StrikesA first YouTube Community Guidelines violation is usually only a warning, which expires 90 days after you finish a short policy training. After that, strikes freeze posting for one week, then two, and a third strike in 90 days can remove the channel.