YouTube, New Leader Of US Media Industry, Bets On AI As Key For Creating Content
On its 20th birthday, YouTube is unrecognizable as the scrappy video site that began as the domain of young amateur users publishing unpolished, low-budget clips.
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YouTube has extended its dominance over Disney. (Representational)
New York:
As YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary, it bears little resemblance to the basic video platform that started as a haven for young amateurs uploading simple, low-budget videos.
With 2.7 billion users worldwide, including major celebrities such as British pop sensation Dua Lipa who share professional content, YouTube has become Americans' preferred way to watch television and is projected to surpass media giant Disney's revenue this year.
During Tuesday's annual Made on YouTube product launch event, executives from the Google-owned platform outlined their strategy for maintaining media dominance in the coming decades: through artificial intelligence.
The event largely positioned YouTube's content creators as media's future, now freed from traditional executive constraints. These creators will be empowered by numerous AI-enabled tools that will either transform production processes or generate entirely new content - a concept that sparked significant resistance from Hollywood during the protracted 2023 strike.
In his presentation, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, alongside other speakers, rejected concerns that advancing AI capabilities would eliminate content creators' jobs.
"These are tools, and really just that," Mohan emphasized. "Make no mistake: no studio, network, tech company, or AI tool will own the future of entertainment."
Instead, Mohan suggested that creating YouTube videos should be viewed as a "viable, respectable and sustainable career path" as AI increasingly becomes central to the creative process during YouTube's next two decades.
Supported by Google's substantial financial resources and industry-leading AI expertise, YouTube has increased its advantage over Disney, which led the market through most of 2024, according to Nielsen data. YouTube captured 13.4% of U.S. viewership in July, compared to Disney's 9.4%.
Analysts at MoffettNathanson recently forecasted that YouTube's revenue would exceed Disney's this year. The legendary entertainment company generated nearly $60 billion in media revenue last year, according to their estimates.
While Alphabet doesn't regularly disclose YouTube's specific revenue figures, it revealed that combined YouTube advertising and subscription revenue exceeded $50 billion in the four quarters ending September 2024.
AI Boosts Roll-Out Of New Tools
YouTube showcased its new offerings on Tuesday by featuring successful platform personalities, including Dua Lipa, Mark Rober, Smosh, and Brandon B.
For many viewers, these content creators - each managing channels with at least 16 million subscribers - have replaced traditional late-night television hosts whose audiences have declined. In some cases, these creators have subscriber counts rivaling Hollywood celebrities' social media followings, highlighting their appeal to new-generation media consumers.
During the event, Lipa acknowledged YouTube's role in helping her build more intimate connections with fans. When Reuters inquired via email about Lipa's planned use of AI features and any potential concerns, her spokesperson did not immediately provide a comment.
Mohan revealed that YouTube had distributed more than $100 billion to content creators over the past four years. Some video producers have reinvested their earnings to build Hollywood-style production facilities as they create increasingly sophisticated and professional content.
The company introduced three times more new features this year compared to last year's event.
Most of the over 30 new tools unveiled incorporate AI to either transform production processes or generate new content. These tools include features that automatically embed relevant shopping links into videos or rapidly compile clips into preliminary video edits. YouTube also introduced AI-generated videos to accompany audio-only podcasts and a speech-to-song converter.
Amjad Hanif, YouTube's vice president overseeing creator-focused products, told Reuters in an interview that the accelerated product development could be partially attributed to YouTube staff themselves using AI to ideate more efficiently.