YouTube’s AI ‘likeness detection’ tool is searching for deepfakes of popular creators

Starting today, creators in YouTube’s Partner Program are getting access to a new AI detection feature that will allow them to find and report unauthorized uploads using their likeness. As shown in this video from YouTube, after verifying their identity, creators can review flagged videos in the Content Detection tab on YouTube Studio. If a video looks like unauthorized, AI-generated content, creators can submit a request for it to be removed.

The first wave of eligible creators was notified via email this morning, and the feature will roll out to more creators over the next few months. YouTube warned early users in a guide on the feature that, in its current in-development state, it “may display videos featuring your actual face, not altered or synthetic versions,” such as clips of a creator’s own content. It works similarly to Content ID, which YouTube uses to detect copyrighted audio and video content.

YouTube originally announced this feature last year and began testing it in December through a pilot program with talent represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). YouTube’s blog post at the time said, “Through this collaboration, several of the world’s most influential figures will have access to early-stage technology designed to identify and manage AI-generated content that features their likeness, including their face, on YouTube at scale.”

YouTube and Google are among many tech firms pushing AI video generation and editing tools, and the likeness detection tool isn’t their only feature in development to deal with AI-generated content on the platform. Last March, YouTube also began requiring creators to label uploads that include content generated or altered using AI and announced a strict policy around AI-generated music “that mimics an artist’s unique singing or rapping voice.”