YouTube CEO says more AI moderation is coming despite creator backlash

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says the platform is pushing ahead with expanded AI moderation tools, even as creators continue to report wrongful bans and mass takedowns tied to automated systems.

In a new interview after being named Time’s CEO of the Year, Mohan outlined how YouTube sees AI as central to both creator growth and platform safety. The company is coming off a massive 2024, with over $36 billion in ad revenue and another $14 billion from subscriptions, and half of all YouTube watch time now coming from TV screens.

Mohan said AI will open the door for a “new class of creators” who previously lacked technical skills or equipment. He argued the tech will revive YouTube’s early era of enthusiastic amateurs while helping the platform surface stronger content overall.

But the biggest shift is happening behind the scenes.

YouTube plots more AI moderation as creators report mass channel bans

According to Mohan, AI will be key in policing misinformation, IP theft, scams, and what many creators have dubbed “AI slop.”

“AI will make our ability to detect and enforce on violative content better, more precise, able to cope with scale,” he said, adding that the system improves “literally every week.”

The comments arrive at a tense moment for YouTube’s creator community.

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Throughout November, creators reported widespread bans and strikes tied to what many believed were AI-driven moderation errors. Tech creator Enderman had multiple channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers abruptly terminated and said the decisions were made entirely by automated systems.

Another case went viral when YouTube reinstated a creator who was banned over a comment posted on an alternate account when they were just 13.

When the backlash peaked, YouTube told creators there were “no bugs or known issues” in its moderation tools and claimed affected channels were removed for “low effort” content. That explanation only fueled more criticism.

Problems have continued into December. Car YouTuber Oleksandr even won a legal case requiring YouTube to restore his terminated channel and re-enable monetization, but as of now, the platform has not reinstated him.

Mohan maintains that AI will ultimately strengthen YouTube’s enforcement systems, but trust across the creator ecosystem remains shaky. With the company now doubling down on the same tech many blame for recent moderation failures, all eyes will be on whether YouTube can stabilize its systems or if the next wave of automated moderation will trigger more controversy.