YouTube Introduces New AI Features for Shorts Creators
YouTube announced on Wednesday that it is rolling out new generative AI features for Shorts creators, including an image-to-video AI tool and new AI effects. The image-to-video feature allows users to transform a picture from their camera roll into a six-second video. Users will receive suggestions that are relevant to the uploaded photo, enabling them to add movement to landscape photos, animate everyday pictures, or bring group photos to life.
One example provided by YouTube showcases the feature turning a static image of a pedestrian signal into a short video that zooms into a dancing version of the walking man symbol.
The new tool is being rolled out in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand initially, with plans to expand to more regions later in the year. Additionally, YouTube mentions that Google Photos will also be receiving a similar image-to-video tool.
In addition to the image-to-video feature, creators can now use AI effects to transform their doodles into artistic images and create unique videos with effects like swimming underwater or twinning with someone. These effects can be accessed by navigating to the “Effects” icon in the Shorts camera and selecting “AI” to browse all generative effects.
These new features are powered by Veo 2, Google’s AI model for video generation, and utilize SynthID watermarks and clear labels to indicate AI-generated content. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan also announced that Google’s Veo 3 video generator will be coming to Shorts later this summer, with Shorts currently averaging over 200 billion daily views.
Furthermore, YouTube has introduced AI playground as a new hub for generative AI creation tools, prompts, and inspirational examples. Creators can access AI playground by tapping the create button and selecting the sparkle icon in the top right corner, available now for users in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
