January 22, 2026 – In a recent annual open letter released on Wednesday (local time), YouTube CEO Neal Mohan revealed that combating “AI-generated spam” and detecting deepfakes will be top priorities for the platform in 2026. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly prevalent, distinguishing between authentic and synthetic media is growing more challenging, with deepfakes posing particularly significant risks, he noted.
Amid AI’s widespread integration across the tech industry, Google is ramping up infrastructure investments to meet surging computational demands. The company is also enhancing its Gemini model and expanding AI capabilities across both commercial and consumer-facing products.
YouTube, one of the world’s largest user-generated content platforms, is directly confronting the influx of AI-generated videos. A wave of low-quality, repetitively produced “AI spam” has emerged as a widespread issue across social media, affecting not just YouTube but also Meta and TikTok—all of which rely on AI-powered recommendation systems to boost user engagement through hyper-personalized content.
Mohan described the current moment as a pivotal inflection point where the boundaries between creative expression and technological capability are rapidly blurring. YouTube is upgrading its existing anti-spam and anti-clickbait frameworks to curb the spread of low-quality, repetitive AI content—systems that have already proven effective in combating traditional spam.
The platform now mandates clear labeling of AI-generated videos and requires creators to disclose any AI modifications to their content. Additionally, harmful synthetic media violating platform guidelines is being removed outright. Maintaining platform appeal for users, creators, and advertisers alike remains fundamental to YouTube’s sustained growth, Mohan emphasized.
In December 2025, YouTube announced the expansion of its “similarity detection” feature to millions of creators in its Partner Program, enabling identification of unauthorized deepfakes using creators’ likenesses.
Mohan reiterated that YouTube views AI as a creative assistant rather than a replacement for human ingenuity. As of December 2025, over 1 million channels were utilizing YouTube’s AI-powered creation tools daily.
The platform is now broadening AI applications for creators, with Shorts—its TikTok and Instagram Reels competitor—serving as a key focus area. This year, creators will gain the ability to generate Shorts using their digital avatars, create games through text prompts, and experiment with AI-generated music.
