More than 20% of YouTube is now AI-generated
Published on Jan 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM (UTC+4)
by Jack Marsh
Last updated on Jan 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
New reports have stated that more than 20 percent of uploads on YouTube are now AI-generated, showing a massive pivot away from human-created videos.
The viewing habits for video content have changed drastically in the last five years, mainly thanks to TikTok.
Instead of long-form YouTube videos and Vlogs keeping users captivated in the same way movies do, the consuming habits have tilted in favour of 20-second ‘Shorts’ as our attention spans have been chopped.
With this shift, people are now using AI to churn out a range of videos with ease, and now one in five videos posted on the platform is made by artificial software programs.
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One in five new YouTube videos is now AI-generated
User-generated YouTube videos have made the platform one of the most creative hubs on the planet, as artists like our own Alex Hirschi, AKA Supercar Blondie, have entertained viewers with long-form videos.
But with the ever-growing presence of Shorts, AI-generated videos are now infiltrating the site and making creators rich.
According to a new study from Kapwing, 21 percent of videos pushed by the YouTube algorithm are made with AI, while 33 percent were classified by them as ‘brainrot’.
The study, labeled as the Slop Report, involved making a brand-new YouTube account on a device with no existing Google cookies and cache data, analyzing the first 500 videos that were suggested by the algorithm.
It also suggested that Spain, Egypt, and US consumers are the three-highest watchers of AI slop, defined as low-quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate content by the Oxford University Press.
Some accounts notorious for this content have made millions of dollars.
In fact, the highest-grossing AI-generated channel, Bandar Apna Dost from India, earns $4.25 million a year.
Many of the channels are focused on animals, generating easy videos that appear real, but are far from Sir David Attenborough’s production levels.
How AI is actually improving YouTube
This study doesn’t mean that AI is bad for YouTube, though. In fact, thanks to the ‘scarily’ good growing presence of Google Gemini, creators can now have assistance from YouTube itself on how to grow their pages.
The Ask Studio has directly impacted a range of creators to optimize their thumbnails and titles, reiterating what makes a good channel.
It’s no wonder that the platform is actually home to some of the best videos ever recorded.
Sometimes, though, you need to filter out the slop to find the quality content.
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Jack Marsh is a journalist who started his media career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of Chester. As an avid supercar and racing enthusiast, he has a passion for everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR. Whether it's highlighting the intricacies of McLaren’s anti-dive suspension revelations or recognizing celebrities’ multi-million-dollar rides, he has a keen eye for the faster things in life.
