YouTube Shorts Now Lets Creators Clone Themselves in Videos

YouTube Shorts is rolling out a feature that lets users create AI avatars that look and sound just like them for use in their videos.

The company says the tool allows users to create a digital version of themselves, known as an avatar, that can be added to existing Shorts or used to generate new ones.

“An avatar builds on existing ingredients-to-video features in YouTube’s creation tools, making it easier and more accurate to add yourself into your videos,” YouTube writes in a blog post. “Avatars create a digital version of yourself so you can generate videos that look and sound like you, safely and securely.”

According to a report by 9to5Google, the feature is available through the main YouTube app and YouTube Create. To generate an avatar, users must first record a “live selfie,” capturing their face and voice from multiple angles while following on-screen prompts. YouTube recommends recording in good lighting, in a quiet environment, with no other faces in the background, and holding the phone at eye level.

Once created, the avatar can be paired with a text description to generate a video. The system animates lip movements, facial expressions, and hand gestures based on the content. Users can select a “make a video with my avatar” option to generate clips from prompts, each up to eight seconds long, according to 9to5Google. But users can create multiple clips back-to-back. Avatars can also be added to certain “eligible Shorts,” although YouTube has not defined what qualifies as eligible. The setup process only needs to be completed once, though users can update their avatar at any time by repeating it.

YouTube tells 9to5Google that “the avatar feature gives users an easier way to include themselves safely and securely in videos.”

The company says the selfie video and voice data are used only for avatar creation, and others cannot use the avatar to produce original Shorts. Users can also delete their avatar at any time, and YouTube will automatically remove it after three years of inactivity. Existing videos containing the avatar will remain on the platform unless deleted separately.

YouTube says the feature “will be rolling out gradually.” To access the tool, users must be at least 18 years old and have an existing YouTube channel. All videos created with avatars will include watermarks, digital labels such as SynthID and C2PA, and disclosures indicating that the content is AI-generated.

The launch comes as one of Google’s main AI competitors OpenAI recently scaled back its video generation efforts. Last month, OpenAI shut down its AI video-generation app Sora less than two years after its unveiling made headlines for creating realistic clips based on simple prompts.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.