YouTube is extending its likeness detection tool to all creators aged 18 and over, widening access to a face-matching system that flags AI-generated videos using a creator’s likeness. The platform said the broader rollout will reach eligible adult creators over the coming weeks, and that the feature remains experimental and is not available in every country.
Likeness detection scans newly uploaded videos for faces that match an enrolled creator and surfaces potential matches for that creator to review. From a single dashboard, a creator can submit a likeness removal request when content violates YouTube’s privacy process, file a copyright removal request for unauthorized use of original content, or archive an item to clear it from the review queue while leaving it live on the platform. The system performs one-time scans of new uploads and does not identify people who have not enrolled, and it currently covers facial likeness only, not AI-generated voice clones.
Enrollment requires identity verification. A Channel Owner or Manager begins setup in YouTube Studio on a computer, under Likeness in the Content detection section, then scans a QR code with a phone, submits a government-issued ID, and completes a short selfie-style face video. YouTube uses that video as a reference template to search for the creator’s likeness and says verification can take up to five days. The company states that the submitted information is held in its internal database for up to three years from the last sign-in unless the user withdraws consent or deletes the account.
The expansion follows a staged release. YouTube first rolled the tool out to YouTube Partner Program members in late 2025, then extended pilots to politicians, government officials, and journalists in March 2026, and to talent agencies, management companies, and the celebrities they represent, including agencies such as CAA, UTA, and WME, in April 2026. Roughly four million Partner Program creators had enrolled by March 2026.
YouTube has positioned the tool as treating a person’s biometric likeness similarly to copyrighted material, aligning it with the platform’s support for proposed United States legislation targeting deceptive AI replicas. It follows researchers documenting compromised high-subscriber channels repurposed to spread deepfake cryptocurrency scams on the platform.
Sources: YouTube Help, Social Media Today, Engadget
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
