YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has published his latest overview of what he’ll be focused on in the year ahead, as the platform continues to become a bigger part of the media ecosystem, and a more established and trusted source of information and entertainment.
Indeed, based on rising Connected TV data, YouTube is now just as big an option as traditional TV in many respects, and with new formats, including AI-generated content, providing new opportunities, the platform continues to explore new ways to evolve in line with demand.
As per Mohan:
“As we enter 2026, the lines between creativity and technology are blurring, sparking a new era of innovation. This inflection point requires ambitious bets.”
I’m not sure that it actually does for a platform of YouTube’s scale and presence, but either way, Mohan and his team are betting big on AI tools and advancements, and working these into YouTube’s options.
On this front, Mohan has previewed several coming AI innovations:
“Just as the synthesizer, Photoshop and CGI revolutionized sound and visuals, AI will be a boon to the creatives who are ready to lean in. On average, more than 1M channels used our AI creation tools daily in December. This year you'll be able to create a Short using your own likeness, produce games with a simple text prompt, and experiment with music. Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement.”
While I recognize that the platforms are trying to move with the latest tech innovations, I’m not sure that AI tools will add a significant level of value to the core of YouTube, because the main reason to watch YouTube content is to experience creative, engaging content, and connect with creators that you align with.
Creating a Short using an AI likeness of yourself seems to run counter to this, as does the basic use of AI to place yourself in an unrealistic scene. Producing games will also lead to a lot of junk, and as with most AI innovations in this respect, I feel like the focus should be more on creativity, and the unique value of such, as opposed to the capacity for all people to generate whatever junk they like.
Essentially, AI will enable more opportunity to explore more ideas, but that doesn’t mean that all of those ideas will be good. In fact, most will be bad, and the true value will continue to be in interesting creators and concepts, not in the tools themselves.
But more creators with access to more options should also mean more good stuff, even if it will also boost the amount of slop.
On that front, YouTube says that it is prepared:
“To reduce the spread of low-quality AI content, we’re actively building on our established systems that have been very successful in combating spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low-quality, repetitive content.”
We’ll see how that plays out in practice.
On Shorts, in addition to AI-generated likeness clips, Mohan has pointed to still image carousel posts in the Shorts feed as a coming innovation (which we reported on recently), as well as new music-related innovations:
“Whether it's helping you find your next go-to artist, uncovering the stories behind the songs that move you or making it easier to discover and experience new releases.”
On CTV, Mohan says that YouTube is launching a fully customizable multiview option, which will give you more capacity to take in more YouTube content, along with 10+ specialized YouTube TV plans “spanning sports, entertainment and news, all designed to give subscribers more control.”
Multiview has been a big hit for sports fans who want to keep tabs on several games that are happening at the same time, and YouTube’s looking to double down on this with expanded multi-view packages that align with viewers’ shrinking attention spans.
Protecting young viewers is also a focus, and Mohan has pointed to YouTube’s latest innovations on this front as evidence of its evolving safety mindset, including time limits for Shorts viewing.
Mohan says that YouTube’s also looking to make it easier for parents to set up new kid accounts, and easily switch between profiles, which will help to ensure greater protection and filtering across devices.
And an important note:
“This is all in service of empowering parents to protect their kids in the digital world, not from the digital world.”
YouTube is of the view that trying to ban youngsters from digital platforms is a backwards step, as it overlooks the significant role that digital connection now plays in our everyday lives.
Basically, in the modern age, kids are going to go online, whether you would prefer them to go out and play sports instead or not, so we’re better off providing enhanced education and protection than looking to bans.
Interestingly, Mohan has also highlighted shopping as a key opportunity, which I’m not sure I would have picked as a big focus for the app.
I mean, it makes sense, especially as TikTok looks to expand on its in-app shopping options. But really, this feels like more of a hedge for the scenario in which TikTok actually succeeds in a significant way,
“We’re focused on making YouTube a premier shopping destination because viewers trust product and brand recommendations from creators. With over 500,000 creators already in YouTube Shopping, we’re focused on frictionless commerce. Soon, when a creator recommends a product, you’ll be able to buy it without leaving the YouTube app.”
YouTube has been developing its shopping options for some time, so this is in line with its ongoing development. But I do think that YouTube’s keeping this higher on the agenda mostly as a means to fend off potential competition.
YouTube also notes that it will look to introduce more ways for creators to make money in-stream, which will include a new initiative that will see YouTube pitching creator sponsorships to brands.
Though, really, there’s nothing radical here, Mohan isn’t predicting some massive technological revolution that will entirely change the YouTube landscape. The focus here is on practical value enhancements within the scope of what’s already possible within YouTube’s systems.
And while AI developments will provide all-new experiences, it will be the most creative, original, compelling voices that continue to drive attention in the app.
