YouTube has become a leader in the US media industry and is betting on AI for content creation

On its 20th birthday, YouTube is no longer recognizable as the video site that started as a place for young amateur users. With 2.7 billion users, YouTube has become the most popular way for Americans to watch television and is expected to surpass the media revenue of industry leader Disney this year, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.

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On Tuesday, at the company's annual Made on YouTube product presentation, executives from the Google-owned platform (part of Alphabet) laid out their vision for how YouTube plans to dominate the airwaves in the coming decades: through AI.

For much of the event, YouTube touted its video creators as the future of media, who can now work without the limitations imposed by media executives. Instead, they will be aided by a host of AI-powered tools that will either rethink the production process or create entirely new content – a concept that Hollywood fought against during a months-long strike in 2023.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and other speakers dismissed the idea, reiterating that the rapid expansion of AI capabilities will not replace the work of content creators.

"These are just tools, and nothing more," Mohan said. "Make no mistake: no studio, broadcaster, tech company, or AI tool will own the future of the entertainment industry."

Instead, Mohan said, creating videos on YouTube should be seen as a "viable, respectable, and sustainable career path," as AI will increasingly come to the forefront of content creation on YouTube over the next 20 years.

Mohan also reported that YouTube has paid content creators over $100 billion in the past four years. Some video producers have reinvested part of their earnings into creating production facilities similar to Hollywood studios, producing increasingly sophisticated and professional videos.

Leveraging Google's significant financial resources and advanced AI technology, YouTube has solidified its advantage over Disney, which, according to Nielsen, dominated the market for most of 2024. In July, YouTube reached 13.4% of viewers in the US, while Disney's figure was 9.4%.

Moffett Nathanson analysts recently predicted that YouTube's revenue will surpass Disney's this year. They estimate that this legendary entertainment company earned nearly $60 billion in media revenue last year.

Alphabet does not publish regular reports on YouTube's revenue, but reported that cumulative advertising and subscription revenue for YouTube for the four quarters ending September 2024 exceeded $50 billion.

On Tuesday, YouTube unveiled new products. This year, the company tripled the number of new features compared to last year's event. Most of the more than 30 new tools introduced by the company use AI to modernize the production process or create new content. These tools allow for automatically embedding relevant product links in videos or almost instantly editing clips into the first cut of a video. YouTube also introduced AI-generated videos for audio podcasts and a speech-to-song generator.

Amjad Hanif, YouTube's vice president responsible for creator-focused products, told Reuters in an interview that the rapid pace of product development is partly due to YouTube employees themselves using AI to quickly generate ideas.

YouTube introduces new rules for AI-powered content19.03.24, 14:59 • 21080 views