YouTube rolls out AI-enabled editing tools amid a brewing arms race for creators

At its Made on YouTube event, YouTube demoed “Dream Screen”, an experimental generative AI tool for its Shorts video offering that will generate AI-generated video or photo backgrounds in seconds based on prompts.

Written by Anuj Bhatia

New York City | September 22, 2023 01:06 AM IST

4 min read

Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, speaks during the “Made on YouTube” event in New York on Thursday, September 21, 2023. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

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Google-owned YouTube showed off plans to use generative artificial intelligence in its creator tools, seeking to gain ground against key rival platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the booming creator economy.

“We want to make it easier for everyone to feel like they can create and we believe generative AI will make that possible,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said at an event Thursday in New York. “These powerful tools shouldn’t just be for a select few. We believe they’re for everyone.”

In a live demonstration, YouTube executive Matthew Simari showed how the feature works. With a simple prompt, AI creates a video of a dragon flying over New York City, and of a dog driving a car, highlighting Google’s expertise in generative AI space.

The “Dream Screen” is a tool for YouTube Shorts that will allow creators to use prompts to generate videos or backgrounds for their content. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

The “Dream Screen” feature is targeted at content creators who are big on making Shorts, the TikTok-like short-form video feature YouTube launched in 2020. According to the video giant, YouTube Shorts now tops 70 billion daily views each month from more than 2 billion signed-in users. While long-form content remains the best way for creators to develop and engage with viewers, YouTube has been focusing on Shorts as it reaches out to new audiences.

YouTube also introduced a new AI feature in YouTube Studio that will generate topic ideas and outlines for potential videos. The AI suggestions will be personalised to individual creators, and will be based on what’s already trending with audiences. The video platform will also roll out an AI-powered music recommendation system that will take a written description of a creator’s video and suggest audio to use.

A new AI-powered dubbing tool lets creators automatically dub their videos into foreign languages, a move aimed at expanding the reach of videos beyond a certain territory where the creator is based. Thursday’s event also saw the announcement of a new app called YouTube Create, which will make it easy for creators to make Shorts.

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“Made on YouTube” is an annual event where Google’s subsidiary shares a roadmap on how it plans to engage with the community of content creators. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

“If you really wander the whole YouTube, you will hear the term creator hundreds of times a day,” Mohan said during a Q&A at the end of the event. “Every time we design products and when I am sitting in product reviews, I will always look at the standpoint of creators.”

YouTube’s push to make it easy to create content on its platform comes at a time when the platform faces increased competition from TiTok and Meta’s Instagram. Google’s subsidiary’s “Made on YouTube” event was a way to lay out a long-term roadmap for the platform’s relationship with video creators as well as the music industry. YouTube invited former YouTube executive Robert Kyncl, now CEO of Warner Music Group and pop star Charlie Puth to the event, where the two discussed AI-generated music.

Since the beginning of the year, tech giants including Google have shifted their focus on generative AI, which can generate new content from text, photos and art. Earlier this week, Amazon revamped its Alexa voice assistant by giving human-like treatment using generative AI.

Anuj Bhatia

Anuj Bhatia is a seasoned personal technology writer at indianexpress.com with a career spanning over a decade. Active in the domain since 2011, he has established himself as a distinct voice in tech journalism, specializing in long-form narratives that bridge the gap between complex innovation and consumer lifestyle. Experience & Career: Anuj has been a key contributor to The Indian Express since late 2016. Prior to his current tenure, he served as a Senior Tech Writer at My Mobile magazine and held a role as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. His professional trajectory reflects a rigorous commitment to technology reporting, backed by a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. Expertise & Focus Areas: Anuj’s reporting covers the spectrum of personal technology, characterized by a unique blend of modern analysis and historical context. His key focus areas include: Core Technology: Comprehensive coverage of smartphones, personal computers, apps, and lifestyle tech. Deep-Dive Narratives: Specializes in composing longer-form feature articles and explainers that explore the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. Global & Local Scope: Reports extensively on major international product launches from industry titans like Apple and Google, while simultaneously covering the ecosystem of indie and home-grown tech startups. Niche Interests: A dedicated focus on vintage technology and retro gaming, offering readers a nostalgic yet analytical perspective on the evolution of tech. Authoritativeness & Trust Anuj is a trusted voice in the industry, recognized for his ability to de-jargonize trending topics and provide context to rapid technological advancements. His authority is reinforced by his on-ground presence at major international tech conferences and his nuanced approach to product reviews. By balancing coverage of the world's most valuable tech brands with emerging startups, he offers a holistic and objective view of the global technology landscape. Find all stories by Anuj Bhatia here. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. ... Read More

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