YouTube has updated its content policies to clarify exactly what counts as unmonetisable "inauthentic content", part of a wider effort to curb AI-generated "slop" on the platform. The move builds on rules introduced last year that blocked revenue for mass-produced and repetitive AI content, but adds more precise definitions so creators know what is and isn't allowed within the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), the scheme through which they earn money from adverts and subscriptions.

The revised guidelines split inauthentic content into three categories: generic, repetitive or template-based videos with little variation; "off-putting" content designed to distress or emotionally manipulate viewers for views, such as staged animal-rescue clips; and videos using AI-generated personas to discuss sensitive topics like health or finance. Trust and safety chief Matt Halprin said the aim is to curb "content farming" while still allowing high-quality AI-assisted creativity, noting that even tutorial videos could be affected if they merely rehash existing content rather than offering something original. The push reflects the growing financial importance of YPP to YouTube, which now generates more ad revenue than rival streamers and has overtaken Netflix in average daily global views.