YouTube is implementing strict measures to combat the increase in low-quality, AI-produced videos on the platform. Beginning July 15, 2025, the platform will revise its monetization policies under the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), a move that will help it weed out what's increasingly known as "AI slop," a flood of mass-produced, repetitive, and artificial content made with the aid of artificial intelligence software.

Why the Update?

Though YouTube has always required “original and authentic” content for monetization, the recent rise in AI-generated videos has made it easier for creators to spam the platform with low-effort uploads. These often include text-to-video creations, robotic voiceovers on stock footage, and repurposed media presented as news or entertainment.

According to YouTube’s Head of Editorial & Creator Liaison, Rene Ritchie, the updated policy is not a dramatic shift but rather a clarification. “This is a minor update to YouTube’s long-standing YPP policies to help better identify when content is mass-produced or repetitive,” he explained. “This type of content has already been ineligible for monetization for years and is content viewers often consider spam.”

What Is Considered “AI Slop”?

The term refers to content that is entirely or largely generated by AI with minimal human effort. It may look smooth to the naked eye but is often devoid of originality, depth, or feeling. Common examples are

• AI-generated news videos with computer-generated voiceovers • Self-generated music videos without human creativity • Frequent "listicle"-style "videos made entirely using templates and scripts

Such videos go viral and receive millions of views, often misleading the audiences and cluttering the site with spam. A monetization ban is intended to discourage such actions and maintain YouTube's quality content.

What's Safe?

AI tool users who are responsible, like those who use editing help or visual enrichments, do not have to be concerned. The change is for all fully AI-generated material that includes no substantial human input. Reaction videos, video essays, and comment-based content are still monetization-worthy so long as there is original content and value brought by the creator.

The Bigger Picture

This policy change is a nod to YouTube's new focus on quality over quantity. As AI capabilities become more accessible, the firm wants to ensure that creators maintain putting effort, thinking, and imagination into creating content.

To producers, the message is clear: AI can assist, but it must not substitute for human work. And to users, that can mean a purer, more legitimate stream free of manipulative or spam posts.