YouTube Shorts is getting a free Veo 3 upgrade that will let creators generate high-quality AI video clips using text prompts. The news was announced by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where it was positioned as a means for brands to transform how advertisements are produced. Veo 3 functionality will be integrated “later this summer,” according to Mohan. The Google DeepMind video generation model has been made available for use in YouTube Shorts starting with Veo 2. With Veo 3, the platform gets audio capability and what Mohan describes as “vastly improved” video quality.

With Veo 3, YouTube “is shifting from pay-to-create to a free version” of Veo, TechRadar writes, adding that the Veo 3 upgrade could “leave TikTok and CapCuts behind” when it comes to AI video generation.

In fact, TechRadar reports that “a casual glance at rival TikTok reveals thousands of Veo 3 clips, featuring everything from fictitious (and sometimes bizarre) sitcoms and commercials to fake news reports.”

Featuring what TechRadar calls the “unprecedented ability” to generate single-pass video synced with audio, Veo 3 was introduced at Google I/O in May 2024.

“If there’s been any limiting factor to Veo 3’s reach, it’s been that it’s part of the premium Gemini Ultra platform, which can cost as much as $249.99 a month,” reports TechRadar, noting that “Gemini Pro ($19.99 a month) also features access, but it’s limited to one or two 8-second clips per day.”

Earlier AI features incorporated into YouTube Shorts include the experimental Dream Screen, which generated AI backgrounds and clips of up to six-seconds starting in 2023, and an upgrade to Veo 2 earlier this year.

According to Ars Technica, Mohan says that YouTube Shorts is now “the most watched source of video in the world,” achieving “a massive 186 percent increase in viewership over the past year” for an average of “200 billion daily views.”

While Mohan’s Cannes speech — captured in a blog post — focused largely on the achievements of individual YouTube Shorts creators, he ended it by saying “what’s even more exciting than what you see on the screen, is how AI is helping creatives behind the scenes,” mentioning YouTube’s auto-dubbing feature, which “translates videos across 9 different languages with 11 more coming soon, and dramatically increases the potential audiences a creator or brand can reach.”

In the six months since auto-dubbing debuted, it’s been used on “more than 20 million videos using AI,” Mohan said.

Related:
Google’s Veo 3 Is Coming to Canva, TechRadar, 6/17/25
Google Is Adding the Veo 3 Video Generator to YouTube to Slopify Shorts, Engadget, 6/18/25
YouTube Shorts Now Averages 200 Billion Daily Views, TheWrap, 6/18/25