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YouTube embracing AI video generated with Veo

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Written by Joseph Nordqvist

Published: 23:00, September 16, 2025

YouTube is building AI video creation into Shorts with Veo 3 while adding disclosure and watermarking safeguards, so you get new creative power and clearer provenance. 

What YouTube just shipped and promised

Veo 3 in Shorts: what you can do

YouTube says a custom Veo 3 Fast model will work inside Shorts to generate short clips with sound from a single prompt. 

The feature is rolling out first in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

You can find it via the Create button and the sparkle icon in the Shorts composer. 

Veo 3 Fast targets lower latency and currently outputs 480p to fit mobile creation. 

YouTube previewed extra Veo-powered tools coming to Shorts: Add motion to animate photos, Stylize to apply looks like pop-art, and Add objects from text, starting as experiments “in the coming months.” 

“Edit with AI,” “Speech to Song,” and safety signals

YouTube introduced Edit with AI to turn your camera-roll clips into a first draft with music, transitions and an optional voiceover in English or Hindi, starting tests in Shorts and the YouTube Create app. 

You’ll also get Speech to Song, which remixes dialogue from eligible videos into music using Google DeepMind’s Lyria 2, with attribution to the source creator.

YouTube says it applies SynthID invisible watermarks and AI-generated content labels across these features. 

What Google’s official accounts publicly said

Google DeepMind posted that a custom Veo 3 Fast is available in YouTube Shorts, generating clips with sound

Google AI reiterated that Veo 3 is coming to YouTube Shorts to create clips with sound effects and speech from a single prompt. 

Google’s main account echoed the Veo 3 Fast in Shorts announcement. 

Scale matters: Shorts viewing

Earlier this year, in June, YouTube said Shorts now average over 200 billion daily views, underscoring why AI creation sits in Shorts. 

The broader platform picture

TikTok: image-to-video with provenance

TikTok launched AI Alive in May, which turns photos into short videos inside Stories, and it labels outputs and embeds C2PA metadata

Meta: preset AI video editing

Meta introduced generative video editing in the Meta AI app, Meta.AI and the Edits app, letting you transform short videos with 50+ preset prompts such as changing outfits, locations and styles, with plans for custom text prompts later. 

AI is being welcomed, but with watermarks and content labels

YouTube requires disclosure for realistic synthetic media and surfaces labels to viewers, which tempers misuse risk while adoption grows. 

TikTok’s C2PA tagging and YouTube’s SynthID labels show platforms are pairing new creation tools with provenance tech, which supports a cautious rollout. 

Creators are already leaning in

YouTube’s 2023 trends work noted 1.7+ billion views on videos about generative AI tools, showing demand for AI-assisted creation well before Veo 3 in Shorts. 

Market momentum

Analysts expect the AI video generator market to grow rapidly over the next decade. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market is forecast to expand from $716.8 million in 2025 to about $2,562.9 million by 2032 — a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.0% between 2025 and 2032.

Practical implications for you

What’s live now vs. coming

Veo 3 Fast creation in Shorts is rolling out in five English-speaking markets, and YouTube says more regions and new Veo-powered effects will follow. 

Users can test Edit with AI and Speech to Song in limited markets and apps as YouTube expands access. 

Safety and compliance

If your upload includes realistic AI-generated or altered scenes, YouTube requires disclosure, and YouTube may show prominent labels on sensitive topics. 


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