YouTube announced a new AI-powered creator tool called Dream Screen and hinted at things to come at its annual Made on YouTube event last week. Rolling out on a test basis to select YouTube Shorts creators later this year, Dream Screen will generate “fantastic settings” for video backgrounds. YouTube says it will “eventually” allow creators to “instantly reimagine” their videos by typing an idea prompt that results in new content created with AI tools. The company also announced it will have AI-generated recommendations for video ideas and machine learning assistance with music track search.

A barrage of AI-powered tools for YouTube could initiate a profound change in the nature of the videos there, The Verge reports, writing that AI products “could mark a shift in how creators plan, make, and structure their content.”

“AI-driven insights will likely shift what kind of content creators double down on, and AI-generated content — already viral on YouTube — will become more common,” suggests The Verge, while noting platforms such as TikTok have already responded to the surge in synthetic content by introducing self-identifying labels.

Although a Made on YouTube blog post talks of using AI to repurpose videos, the accompanying image appears to be a wholly generated “Create a Video” short resulting from the prompt “Panda drinking coffee.”

“Dream Screen will allow creators to simply type in an idea for a visual and, in less than a minute, the AI tool will generate videos or video backgrounds,” Mashable reports.

“The AI suggestions will be personalized to individual creators, YouTube says, and based on what’s already trending with audiences,” writes The Verge, adding that the “AI-powered music recommendation system will take a written description of a creator’s video and suggest audio to use” as a backing track.

The company also showcased a free mobile feature aimed at first-time creators called YouTube Create that aims to “make video production for Shorts or longer videos simpler and easier” from a phone.

Currently in beta on Android in select markets, YouTube Create provides video editing tools for edits and trims, provides automatic captioning, voiceover capabilities and access to a library of filters, effects, transitions along with royalty-free music — all from a mobile phone.

YouTube Create is also AI-powered, writes Mashable, noting it can be downloaded from the Google Play Store “in 8 countries including the U.S. and UK” as of last week, with an iOS version due next year. Mashable calls it “basically YouTube’s answer to CapCut, the popular mobile video editing tool from one of the company’s biggest competitors TikTok.”

Related:
How Two High School Rivals Became Co-Creators of YouTube’s AI-Powered Dubbing Tool, YouTube, 9/21/23
New: YouTube Create App, YouTube Creators Video, 9/21/23
Dream Screen, YouTube Creators Video, 9/20/23