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Every year YouTube releases an article detailing its strategic vision for the next 12 months, detailing its priorities and big bets. This update gives creators and viewers a peek into YouTube's executive direction, upcoming platform improvements, and policy changes. 

Keeping up to date with YouTube's next moves is especially important for creators looking to grow their audience. In the last three years, YouTube has paid out over $70 Billion, more than any other creator monetization platform, aligning your channel’s strategy with YouTube’s strategy for the platform ensures you’re maximizing your earning potential. Below, we'll fill you in on all of the highlights from YouTube's big bets and priorities for 2024.

 The Rise of YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is exploding! The number of accounts uploading YouTube Shorts has grown 50% in the past year and is averaging over 70 billion views — PER DAY! And the engagement is only growing, as YouTube Shorts gives the next generation of creators the power to make content easier than ever before, right on their mobile devices.

Optimizing with AI: The Creator's Digital Assistant

AI has the ability to empower human creativity, but it isn’t always accessible to everyone; YouTube is seeking to change that. With Dream Screen and Dream Track from YouTube and tools like OpusClip, anyone can use AI to enhance their creative process and take their content to the next level. 

Dream Screen allows users to create AI-generated videos or background images for their YouTube Shorts with just a simple text prompt. The Dream Track feature gives users the chance to produce a unique soundtrack to their shorts voiced by popular artists such as Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Troye Sivan, and Papoose.

OpusClip empowers creators by clipping long-form video content into high-quality shorts that AI reframes, curates, and captions, greatly reducing production time and increasing quality. This lets creators repurpose their existing videos across different platforms and focus on delivering great content.

Altered Content Checks: YouTube's Strategy Against AI Misinformation

With the rise of AI-generated content and deep fakes, YouTube is now using Altered Content Checks to combat misinformation. 

The check asks creators:

Do any of the following describe your content?

• Makes a real person appear to say or do something that they didn't say or do
• Alters footage of a real event or place
• Generates a realistic-looking scene that didn't actually occur

If the answer is yes, the content will be labeled as "Altered or Synthetic Content" to inform viewers and strengthen trust in the platform. This increases viewer’s trust in content and let’s creators use AI transparently.

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Creators as Next-Gen Studios: Expanding Creative Horizons 

It's incredible to hear YouTube say something that we have all known for some time — creators should be recognized as next-generation studios. Whether it's single-person, large production teams, podcasts, tutorials, deep dives, or competitive gaming, the quality of creator content is higher than ever, and you can only expect that to increase with the rise of AI tools. 

And it's not just the quality that's increasing; so is the participation; as of early 2024, there are over 3 million channels in the YouTube Partner Program. That means there is a demand for more quality content and an opportunity for more creators to monetize their work.

Through the YouTube Partner Program and others like the OpusClip Affiliate Program, creators are turning their passions into careers.

The Living Room Takeover: YouTube's Expanding Audience 

YouTube has its sights on your couch — and the TV in front of it. Viewers want all of their content in one place, from NFL Games to the nightly news and nature videos to makeup tutorials, and they are increasingly wanting it on the biggest screen in their home. Nielsen reported that for the past 11 months YouTube led streaming watchtime with viewers watching 1 billion hours of content on television screens each day.

YouTube's push to conquer the Living Room gives creators an opportunity to reach a broader audience, with viewers watching more of their long, mid, and short-form content on TV.

Safeguarding the Creator Economy: A Foundational Pillar

YouTube has reiterated that its number one commitment is protecting the YouTube community, including viewers, advertisers, and creators. A few ways YouTube does this are:

• Protecting Kids: The youth make up over 100 million active viewers each month, they usuallly watch funny videos, homework guides, hairstyle tutorials, and other age appropriate content.
• Election Transparency: YouTube has ensured that authoritative sources are prominent in election searches. It has spent years developing a playbook that serves as a guide on how to manage misconduct, election interference, and hate speech.
• Altered Content Labels: As mentioned previously, YouTube is rolling out labels to inform viewers if the content they are watching is synthetic or AI-generated.

A safe, healthy, and truthful online experience for everyone increases engagement from viewers, ad spend from advertisers, and ensures the creator economy is growing.

Why Creators Should Embrace YouTube's Vision and Call-to-Action 

Looking at all of YouTube's bets and priorities for 2024 collectively should be encouraging for today's creators. With new AI tools to assist with content creation and different formats to deliver content, there have never been more ways to reach viewers and grow your audience. As a greater number of creators turn to YouTube as a career and reliable source of income, they can rest assured that YouTube and creator tools like OpusClip are doubling down on their support to ensure their success.