Meanwhile, the generative effects feature is accessed through the effects icon in the Shorts camera. From there, the user must select the “AI” option to find the available generative effects. After selecting the desired effects, the user must tap the record button. Depending on the chosen effect, the next step is to either take a selfie or draw an image. The user can review and edit the result before uploading it to YouTube.
On the other hand, AI playground is a hub that houses the latest generative AI tools, as well as a gallery of examples for inspiration. The hub also includes pre-filled prompts designed to assist the user in generating content. Users can find AI playground by tapping the create button and then the sparkle icon located in the top right corner.
YouTube also notes that the content created with the new tools comes with SynthID watermarks and clear labels indicating that it is generated with AI. Currently, these features are free for users in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The company plans to expand the tools to more regions later this year, but did not mention any specific timeline.
The introduction of these tools to YouTube Shorts is hardly a surprise, given that Google had recently brought the same photo-to-video capabilities to Gemini, and is also doing the same with its Photos app. It seems we’ll probably be seeing a whole lot more AI-generated content on YouTube and other online spaces as these tools become more widely available.
(Source: YouTube [1], [2])
