72% of new YouTube videos are Shorts

Custom thumbnails just landed for the format that's now nearly 3 in 4 uploads. Plus what actually keeps a channel monetized.  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 

Faceless channels aren't the target - interchangeable ones are. The protection is one thing a competitor can't swap out of your videos.

NEWSLETTER · #60

THE MONETIZATION FINGERPRINT The Part Of Your Channel Nobody Can Copy On Tuesday we broke down the three buckets YouTube now uses to decide who keeps earning. This is the part that keeps you on the right side of them. The panic reading is that faceless channels are finished. That isn't it. A channel gets into trouble when its videos are interchangeable - when someone could swap in another creator's voice, script or stock footage and no viewer would notice. The protection is a fingerprint: one thing a competitor can't swap out. Your hands. A recurring character. A point of view you actually argue for. The video walks through how to find yours, on camera or not. Find Your Channel's Fingerprint

More From This Week Shorts Can Finally Have A Custom Thumbnail After two years of saying it wasn't coming, YouTube is rolling custom Shorts thumbnails out to Partner Program creators. Pick from three suggested frames or upload your own on desktop - and you can add one to Shorts you already published. See how the new thumbnails work → One Title Change, And A Flat Video Took Off Architect Stewart Hicks had a video going nowhere. He rewrote the title, and by his own account it passed 3 million views. Same footage, different packaging - plus the profession-swap test for pressure-testing your own titles. Hear how the title changed → Also on our radar: why the money moved from AdSense to sponsorships - Andru Edwards on what changed.

LAST CHANCE - ENDS SUNDAY 40% Off Boost For 4 Months Mulai, your thumbnail is the first thing every viewer judges and the fastest thing you can fix. Paste the link and vidIQ hands back a finished design, not a frame grab and a hope. Claim 40% Off Boost 40% off monthly Boost plans for your first 4 months; billed monthly, cancel anytime. Offer ends Sunday, August 2. Not applicable to PayPal payments; coaching is excluded.

VIDIQ EXCLUSIVE CREATOR INSIGHT 72%       Nearly 3 in 4 YouTube uploads are now Shorts. Across vidIQ's 62M-channel dataset, Shorts outnumbered long-form uploads more than two to one over the last 30 days - and until this week, not one of them could carry a custom thumbnail. How to set a Shorts thumbnail →

In Case You Missed It Last Thursday's hero Where Viewers Leave - And The Edits That Keep Them Your retention graph isn't one long slide - it's 3 predictable drop zones, each a different and fixable problem. One of the fixes runs opposite to the advice most creators are given. See The Three Drop Zones

COMPLETELY REBUILT The New vidIQ Mobile App Is Here We rebuilt the vidIQ app from scratch. Faster performance, cleaner interface, and real-time analytics that load when you need them.

VIDIQ PRO TIP Compare multiple keywords at once and spot trends before they peak. Our updated keyword tool shows momentum and velocity - so you can predict what's about to blow up instead of chasing what already did. Explore Keywords →

That's the week. See you soon, Rob from vidIQ

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3 rules now decide if YouTube pays you

YouTube retired the term "inauthentic content" and split the rule into three named buckets. AI is still allowed - here's where the line actually sits.  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 

YouTube retired the term "inauthentic content" and split the rule into three named buckets. AI is still allowed - here's where the line actually sits.

TUESDAY EDITION

THE 2026 MONETIZATION RULES AI Is Allowed. Generic Is Not. YouTube retired the phrase "inauthentic content" this month, and plenty of creators read that as the pressure coming off. Read the next line carefully: the term is gone, the rule is not. YouTube split what it covered into three named buckets, and calls this a clarification, not a new policy. See what actually changed → The Rename, Decoded One is the old rule renamed. Two are newly spelled out - for enforcement that was already happening. THE THREE BUCKETS 1 Generic or Repetitive Content Looks templated, or lands the same way every video. 2 Unsatisfying or Off-putting Content Built on shock or an emotional formula, not a payoff. 3 AI Personas Related to Sensitive Topics An AI presenter giving finance, health, legal or medical advice. Where The Line Actually Sits AI is not what gets flagged. YouTube's trust and safety lead has said so plainly: "AI can actually allow people to make a lot of videos. Sometimes those videos are great, and it really enhances creativity." Matt Halprin, VP of Global Trust and Safety, YouTube The tool was never the test - interchangeable output is. YouTube's own example for the second bucket: an animal in distress, then the rescue, a formula built to work your emotions. One honest flag: YouTube published no hard examples for "off-putting," so that bucket is the judgment call here, not a bright line. How To Stay On The Right Side Reviewers read your channel, not one upload - main theme, most-viewed videos, newest uploads. So this is a habit, not a one-time fix: put your own spin on the format instead of shipping the template untouched. YouTube's own wording: a thoughtful spin transforms content. One video won't cost you monetization. A pattern can. Know where the line is before your next upload. See The Three Buckets Explained See you Thursday, Rob from vidIQ

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