AI-powered creator tools were a central focus at this week’s Made on YouTube event, where the company unveiled Veo 3 Fast, a “quicker and more cost effective version” of Google’s powerful video model, Veo 3 that is being made available free for creators in YouTube Shorts. Veo 3 Fast generates outputs with lower latency at 480p and also generates sound, a first for YouTube Shorts. YouTube created the mobile-first Veo 3 Fast model in partnership with artificial intelligence research lab Google DeepMind. Video creators will soon be able to leverage Veo 3 Fast to add backgrounds and objects or change styles using prompts.

Veo 3 Fast supports the 9:16 vertical aspect ratio. It is rolling out now in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, YouTube explains in a blog post. Other AI upgrades will be coming in the months ahead on Shorts, including a motion tool that lets users “bring photos to life by applying a motion from another video, like a fun dance or a wild sports move,” according to YouTube.

Veo 3 Fast also “has a new speech-to-song tool that can turn dialogue into a soundtrack for YouTube Shorts videos,” Variety points out.

During the Made on YouTube event at New York City’s Pier 57, YouTube “also released a new stat,” reports Variety, saying “it has paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies in four-year period (January 2021 to December 2024).”

In its mission to become “a true creative partner,” YouTube also rolled out a new suite of YouTube Studio tools designed to help provide inspiration as well as “deeper audience insights and hands-on support.”

One of these, Ask Studio, is an AI chatbot that you can converse with conversationally to on topics like “how is my new video performing?” or “based on community feedback how can I improve my editing style?,” YouTube writes in a YouTube Studio blog post.

YouTube is expanding a likeness-detection tool in YouTube Studio. “In open beta to all YouTube Partner Program creators, this lets creators detect and manage videos made with AI using their facial likeness — and notify YouTube if someone is trying to misappropriate it,” Variety reports. YouTube says more than 30 million Studio creators are already using it monthly.

For long-form video creators, YouTube is adding a new way to earn “with brand deals and the YouTube Shopping program” with an automated way to swap out brand sponsorships, TechCrunch writes, noting that a brand link feature is rolling out for Shorts. “The company is also introducing auto timestamps for product tags, auto tagging for eligible items mentioned in videos.”

A Keyword blog post highlights all the announcements from Made on YouTube.

Related:
YouTube Adds Dual-Format Streaming, Live Minigames, More, ETCentric, 9/18/25
Made on YouTube: New Features for Music Fans, YouTube, 9/16/25
YouTube Targets Creators and Consumers in Broad Generative AI Push, Bloomberg, 9/16/25
YouTube Music Launches New Tools for Artists to Reward Fans with Exclusive Merch and Videos, TechCrunch, 9/16/25
YouTube Announces a Range of Updates at Made on 2025, Social Media Today, 9/16/25