SAN BRUNO, California, April 9, 2026, 04:19 PDT
YouTube is rolling out AI avatars for Shorts, giving creators a way to put a digital version of themselves on screen without filming each clip anew. The tool works through the main YouTube mobile app and YouTube Create, and the company says every avatar video will be labeled as AI-generated. 1
The move matters because it turns a January promise into product as Shorts keeps swelling inside YouTube’s business, averaging 200 billion daily views. “This year you’ll be able to create a Short using your own likeness,” Chief Executive Neal Mohan wrote then, adding that AI would remain “a tool for expression, not a replacement.” 2
To make an avatar, creators must be at least 18 and own an existing channel. They record a “live selfie” and voice sample in the YouTube app or YouTube Create, then can drop the avatar into a new video or into eligible Shorts through Reimagine, YouTube’s AI remix tool. 3
YouTube says creators can retake or delete an avatar whenever they want, though deleting it will not automatically remove Shorts already published with it. Avatars that go unused for three years will be removed automatically, and the company says no one else can use the avatar to make original videos. 3
Videos made with the avatar will carry visible watermarks and digital labels including SynthID and C2PA, tools meant to flag that a clip was made with AI and keep a record of where it came from. Google’s DeepMind describes SynthID as a watermarking tool for AI content, while C2PA says its standard is built to track the origin and edits of digital media. 3
The move also keeps YouTube in step with rivals. TikTok introduced Symphony Digital Avatars in 2024 for brands and creators, and Andy Yang, TikTok’s head of creative product, said the tool would “unlock a new avenue” for creators to scale brand work; Meta last year rolled out AI video editing for short-form clips across its apps. 4
The avatar push is part of a wider build-out of YouTube’s creator tools and business pitch. Mohan said more than 1 million channels used YouTube AI creation tools daily in December, and the company has paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the past four years. 2
But the bet could cut both ways. In the same January letter, Mohan said the rise of “AI slop” — low-quality synthetic material made at scale — had raised concerns, and he said YouTube was building on anti-spam and anti-clickbait systems to curb repetitive AI content; Britain said last month it would examine broader rules on labeling AI-generated media as governments and platforms wrestle with deepfakes. 2
YouTube’s broader AI privacy notice says Google may collect prompts, outputs and shared media used with YouTube AI features to improve products, though the avatar help page says deleting an avatar permanently removes the recorded selfie and voice tied to that avatar. The company says the feature will roll out gradually. 5
