Artificial intelligence is, slowly but surely, starting to impact our lives in tangible ways. Some good, some bad. And this is forcing tech companies to take steps to protect people using their platforms. This includes YouTube, which now lets individuals report a video featuring an AI-generated version of themselves.

How AI-Generated YouTube Videos Are on the Rise

AI-generated content is everywhere. News reports and online articles can be generated by AI bots such as ChatGPT and Gemini, photos and artwork can be generated by the likes of DALL-E and Imagen, and videos can be generated by a range of text-to-video AI tools that are improving all the time.

Of the various forms of content that AI is capable of producing, video is the least refined right now, with plenty of examples of AI models producing extremely bizarre and unsettling clips. However, technology is improving, and simpler forms, such as putting words into someone’s mouth, are getting harder to detect.

AI-generated video ranges from innocuous parodies of celebrities saying things they haven’t actually said to deepfakes designed to spread misinformation. The former is amusing, though potentially still upsetting for the celebrities involved. But the latter is being used to push agendas, destabilize democracies, and swing elections.

Either way, as technology improves and the number of cases of AI-generated videos increases, online video sites and social media platforms are going to have to put barriers in place to prevent abuse. This is why, as first reported by TechCrunch, YouTube is acting to tackle the issue.

How to Flag AI-Generated Content in a YouTube Video

YouTube has quietly rolled out the option under its privacy guidelines for individuals to report a video using an AI-generated or otherwise synthetic character that looks or sounds like you. This applies whether the video is designed to do harm (such as ruin someone’s reputation) or is something more innocent (but still unwanted).

If you spot an AI-generated or synthetic version of yourself in a YouTube video, you can now submit a takedown request. This is done by following the Privacy Complaint Process, which relies on the individual affected reporting the issue, unlike the ability for anyone to flag a YouTube video for other forms of abuse.

To report a video that contains your likeness generated by AI or otherwise synthetically altered, work your way through YouTube’s Privacy Complaint Process. When you get to step 6 of 6, you’ll be able to “Report Altered or Synthetic Content. YouTube has a page explaining these labels, but briefly describes them as “content that looks or sounds like you, but was significantly edited or generated by AI or other tools.”

What Happens When You Flag AI Content on YouTube

After you have followed YouTube’s privacy complaint process and reported altered or synthetic content, the YouTuber responsible will have 48 hours to remove the video. If the video isn’t removed within that time frame, YouTube will investigate further.

YouTubers also have the option to remove the personal (and identifying) information from the video or blur the faces of the people involved in the video. They cannot, however, simply make the video private to remove the claim, as YouTube doesn’t trust that the uploader will not change the status back to public at a later date.

YouTube doesn’t promise to remove all instances of AI-generated content reported by the individual involved, promising instead to “consider a variety of factors when evaluating the complaint.” It also requires first-party claims in all but a handful of cases, which means you won’t be able to complain on behalf of someone famous.

Still, this is a good first step in what’s sure to become a growing problem over the next few years.