YouTube is testing an updated UI for YouTube Studio, while it’s also revised its rules on repetitive content in response to a rise in complaints from users.
First, YouTube is trying out an “insights first” experience in YouTube Studio on desktop. The revised approach aims to help creators identify trends and provide deeper insights into content performance.
In order to facilitate this, YouTube renamed the Analytics tab in YouTube Studio, and is now calling it Insights. Meanwhile, the company also improved its in-app navigation tools to facilitate access content insights.
YouTube is also testing artificial intelligence-powered insight cards, which will provide data on metrics including channel performance, content patterns and audience loyalty.
The company is also experimenting with improvements to its Trends tab, which will include more information on key trends.
The changes will ideally bring more content insights to the foreground, and should offer creators real-time notes on what’s working, both on their channel and across the app.
YouTube said the experiment is currently rolling out to a small group of creators.
On another front, YouTube refined its guidance related to its Inauthentic Content Policy in order to include updated notes on what YouTube's VP of Trust & Safety Matt Halprin said was unsatisfying or off-putting material, which could result in demonetization.
As explained by Halprin, the updates mainly target AI-generated content, with YouTube working to ensure that the rise in AI-generated content result in a significant degradation of platform quality.
Essentially, AI tools enable creators to post an endless stream of posts to the app, which also means that those in the YouTube Partner Program can basically throw ideas at the wall all day, by repeatedly posting to the app in order to see what sticks.
That means some users are posting content that YouTube sees as veering into certain areas that it doesn’t want to encourage.
According to Halprin, its new guidance relates to:
- Generic and repetitive content, generally made with templates: Halprin said that user feedback about this type of material has been generally negative.
- Content that’s off-putting or distressing, or which is seeking to get views by showing something emotionally manipulative. Halprin used an example of content that depicts an animal in distress. “If you have a channel that is [...] dedicated to that kind of emotionally distressing manipulative content, we’ve heard from our viewers that that’s not something that they like.”
- AI personas talking about sensitive topics: Halprin said AI personas are fine overall, but videos depicting AI personas that are talking about finance, legal issues or health care could be problematic
Halprin said this guidance is not reflective of any wider policy change, and the wording of YouTube’s Inauthentic Content rules hasn’t changed. These notes are more about what YouTube is now taking a closer look at as it works to respond to user feedback.
