YouTube rolls out avatar AI deepfakes for Shorts creators

YouTube is rolling out a new Shorts feature called “Make a video with my avatar,” letting eligible creators generate short clips that use a realistic digital avatar of their own face and voice. The rollout is underway in the YouTube app and YouTube Create, powered by Google’s Veo 3.1 video model. Key details for users: prompts can produce clips up to about eight seconds, with the option to stitch clips for longer videos. Only the account holder can generate and delete their avatar videos at any time (older videos remain unless manually removed). The content includes AI disclosures and digital watermarks to flag AI generation. At launch, availability is limited (initially mobile users outside Europe). The move arrives as generative video tools expand across the tech sector, raising concerns about AI deepfakes. YouTube is effectively democratizing AI video creation while emphasizing labeling and watermarking. The article also notes rising compute costs in the space, citing OpenAI’s reported shutdown of its Sora video app after six months. For traders: this is a media/AI policy and platform feature update, not a direct crypto catalyst. Still, it may marginally influence sentiment around broader “synthetic media” regulation and trust topics linked to the tech cycle.