According to the findings of the study, low-quality AI-generated content is becoming increasingly common. According to The Guardian, it generates approximately $117 million a year.
In a study conducted by Kapwing, 15,000 popular YouTube channels were analyzed, including the top 100 in each country. The results showed that 278 of them exclusively feature content created with AI.
These AI-generated channels collectively garnered over 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers, generating around $117 million (£90 million) in annual revenue.
Researchers also opened a new account on YouTube and found that 104 of the first 500 recommended videos were low-quality content created with AI. About one-third of these 500 videos fell into the category of "low-quality AI-generated content and other low-grade content designed to monetize attention."
The data reflects current trends in an industry that is rapidly developing new content formats, filling platforms like X, Meta, and YouTube, and ushering in a new era: context-free, addictive, and international content.
This year, The Guardian reported that nearly 10% of the fastest-growing YouTube channels are created using AI and are garnering millions of views, despite the platform's efforts to combat "misleading content."
The channels discovered by Kapwing have a global audience. For example, in Spain, 20 million people follow popular AI-generated channels, which is nearly half the country's population. In Egypt, there are 18 million subscribers, in the USA, 14.5 million, and in Brazil, 13.5 million.
The most popular channel in the study was Bandar Apna Dost, based in India, which currently has 2.4 billion views. It narrates the adventures of an anthropomorphic rhesus macaque and a muscular character resembling the Incredible Hulk, who fight demons and travel by helicopter made of tomatoes. According to Kapwing's estimates, the channel could generate up to $4.25 million in revenue. The channel owner did not respond to The Guardian's request.
Rohini Lakshane, a researcher in technology and digital rights, noted that the popularity of "Bandar Apna Dost" can be attributed to its absurd plots, hyper-masculine stereotypes, and lack of a clear storyline, making it appealing to new viewers.
The channel Pouty Frenchie from Singapore, which appears to target children, has 2 billion views and tells the adventures of a French bulldog in a candy forest and eating crystal sushi, many of which are accompanied by children's laughter. Kapwing estimates its annual revenue to be around $4 million. The channel Cuentos Facinantes from the USA, also aimed at children and with 6.65 million subscribers, became the most popular in the study.
At the same time, the Pakistani channel The AI World publishes short videos about disasters, such as floods in Pakistan, with titles like "Poor People," "Poor Family," and "Kitchen During Flood." Many of them are accompanied by a background of "Relaxing Rain, Thunder, and Lightning Atmosphere for Sleep." The channel itself has amassed 1.3 billion views.
Determining the significance of these channels in the context of the vast amount of content on YouTube is not easy. The platform does not disclose data on the annual number of views and the share of AI-generated content.
However, behind the absurd scenes of candy forests and disasters lies a semi-structured, growing industry. It includes people seeking new ways to earn money on the world's largest platforms using AI tools.
“In Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and on forums, many people share tips and ideas, as well as sell courses on creating content that can generate money,” said Max Reed, a journalist who has written extensively about AI-generated content.
“There are so-called niches. One that I recently noticed is AI videos where people blow up pressure cookers on the stove,” he added.
While such content creators can be found everywhere, Reed noted that many come from English-speaking countries with good internet access, where earnings on YouTube are higher than the average salary.
“These are mainly middle-income countries like Ukraine, a lot of people from India, Kenya, Nigeria, as well as Brazil. You can also find some from Vietnam. These are places with relative freedom of access to social networks,” he noted.
Creating viral content with AI is not always an easy task. First, according to Reed, platforms like YouTube and Meta are not always transparent about payments for content. Second, the viral content ecosystem is filled with scammers who offer advice and courses on creating viral content, earning more than the creators themselves.
Nevertheless, for some, it is becoming a way to earn money. While new engaging ideas, such as exploding pressure cookers, constantly emerge, in AI content, human creativity matters less than the algorithms that govern its distribution on Meta and YouTube.
“These platforms are essentially huge A/B testing machines,” Reed pointed out. “Almost everything you can imagine can already be found on Facebook. So it’s important to determine what works and how to scale it. How do you get ten of those services?”
A YouTube representative stated: “Generative AI is a tool that can be used to create both quality and low-quality content. We continue to focus on providing users with high-quality content, regardless of how it is created. All materials uploaded to YouTube must comply with our community guidelines, and we remove content that violates these rules.”
