- YouTube will roll out an AI-powered age-estimation model in the U.S. on Aug. 13 to identify users under 18, regardless of self-reported birthdate, expanding existing teen protections.
- The system, already used in other markets, will trigger safeguards such as non-personalized ads, digital wellbeing tools, privacy prompts, and limits on repetitive or age-restricted content for identified teen users.
- Creators may see shifts in audience makeup and slight ad revenue declines, as uploads from under-18 creators will default to private and monetization options will be restricted; YouTube expects limited financial impact overall.
YouTube will begin using artificial intelligence to estimate the age of U.S. users and expand teen safety protections, a move that could affect how some creators reach audiences and earn money.
Starting Aug. 13, the Google-owned platform will roll out an age-estimation model to identify users under 18, regardless of the birthdate provided when creating an account, according to YouTube. The AI-driven system has already been deployed in other markets, and the company says it will now bring it to the U.S. to extend protections such as limiting personalized ads, turning on wellbeing tools, and curbing repetitive exposure to certain types of content.
The model uses a combination of signals — including account history and activity patterns — to predict whether a viewer is a teenager. Users flagged as under 18 will be notified and can verify their age if they believe the determination is wrong, using methods such as government ID, a selfie, or a credit card, YouTube indicated.
For affected viewers, YouTube will automatically enable the same safeguards already in place for those who disclosed their age as under 18 when signing up. These include default activation of digital wellbeing features like “take a break” and bedtime reminders, displaying privacy prompts before public comments or uploads, limiting recommendations of potentially problematic videos, and restricting age-restricted content to users who are 18 or older.
On the creator side, the changes could alter audience composition. Videos from creators identified as under 18 will be set to private by default, and those creators will be unable to earn from gifts on vertical live streams. YouTube said some creators may see a drop in ad revenue because non-personalized ads — which typically generate less income — will replace targeted ads for viewers identified as teens. The company described the expected impact on earnings as limited for most channels.
The shift builds on YouTube’s existing teen protections, but now applies them to a wider group by bypassing self-reported birthdates. The company says its experience in other markets shows the technology works effectively to broaden safeguards. YouTube emphasized that the model is designed to minimize errors, but offered a path for manual verification to address mistakes.
YouTube is also working to align its analytics tools with the new system. Audience reports in YouTube Analytics are currently based on the age a user provides; the company said it will update these to reflect the model’s determinations in the future.
