YouTube rolls out AI editing, dual streaming, and paid metrics

YouTube has rolled out several creator-focused updates this week, prioritising new advertising and analytics tools alongside AI-powered editing and video quality upgrades.

The first update is the introduction of paid versus organic metrics in YouTube Analytics. Creators can now filter views, likes, comments, shares, and watch time to see what traffic comes from organic sources and what stems from paid promotions. The move aims to help creators assess the impact of both their content strategies and advertising spend more accurately. YouTube also clarified that advertising does not harm organic performance, emphasising that paid ad metrics and organic reach operate through independent systems.

In another update, the platform announced dual-format streaming, allowing creators to broadcast horizontally and vertically at once. The vertical feed will be eligible for Shorts discovery, with automatic layout generation from the horizontal stream.

Beyond this, the platform has introduced Edit with AI, a feature that automatically assembles a creator’s raw footage into a first-draft edit, complete with music, transitions, and narration. The tool also includes localised Hindi voiceover styles, such as cricket commentary and wedding themes, tailored to Indian users. The feature is expected to be accessible via its Create app and Shorts camera in the coming weeks.

It is also expanding its AI Help Chat, which provides automated troubleshooting and direct access to live support agents. The feature is currently available to English-language users outside of the EU, UK, and Switzerland, with plans to add Spanish and Portuguese soon.

Among other product enhancements, the platform launched Super Resolution, an AI-powered upscaling feature that improves the quality of older or lower-resolution videos up to 1080p. The platform also increased thumbnail file size limits from 2 MB to 50 MB to support higher-quality images on 4K displays.

These updates, the platform said, are part of ongoing efforts to simplify content creation, enhance monetisation, and improve viewer experiences across devices.