YouTube's Culture & Trends team says 72% of surveyed uploaders use AI on videos or images, and many use it to put themselves in the picture.
Generative video is often described as something audiences distrust, but YouTube's own research suggests creators have already embraced it. According to a post on the official YouTube blog, a report from the platform's Culture & Trends team found that 72% of uploaders say they use AI on videos or images.
The report is titled "Human Creativity and AI". YouTube says its team studied the major generative video trends of the past year and ran surveys with the research firm NRG asking thousands of people about their interests and attitudes toward generative AI. Respondents were people active online, aged 14 to 44. The "72%" figure refers to surveyed video posters in that age range.
Putting yourself in the picture
The most striking finding is how personal the use has become. YouTube says that rather than using AI strictly as a utility, people use it to insert themselves into content. More than two-thirds of people who post AI videos say they have featured themselves in their own content, according to the report as summarised by YouTube.
Interest goes beyond those who have already tried it. In a US survey run in April 2026 with 694 online people aged 14 to 44, 61% of surveyed video posters said they are interested in using AI to insert themselves into content.
Trends built on emotion
YouTube points to "hug your younger self" videos as an example. In these clips, people animate and interact with childhood photos to express emotions that are hard to put into words. The company says the videos became a social experience, with comments and video responses producing nostalgia and an emotional rapport between participants.
Hobbyists are using the tools differently, YouTube says. It describes aspiring fashion designers turning flat sketches into photoreal runway looks, fans visualising themselves in cosplay or writing new fan fiction, and the Minecraft creator Kristufer hosting ASMR mukbangs inside fictional block-world restaurants.
What to take from it
YouTube frames the findings around what it calls the timeless human need for self-expression, arguing that generative AI is most valuable when it deepens the connection between people and their communities. The full report includes case studies and data breakdowns for anyone who wants the detail.
It is worth remembering where this comes from. The research was commissioned and published by YouTube, a company with an obvious interest in how AI video is perceived, and the survey covers active online users aged 14 to 44 rather than all viewers or all creators. The numbers describe how a younger, highly online group says it behaves, not how every audience feels about AI-made video.
Even with that caveat, the headline is hard to ignore. If nearly three in four surveyed uploaders in this group are already using AI in some form, generative tools are no longer a fringe experiment on the platform. They are part of how a large share of people make and share video.
Picture credit: YouTube / Google (Culture & Trends report cover)
