The Rundown: What YouTube creators should expect to change in 2026

On Jan. 21, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan released a lengthy blog post about what creators can expect in 2026, outlining upcoming changes poised to drastically affect creator experiences on the platform. 

The changes show just how much YouTube is willing to flex to keep itself ahead of the game — whether that’s competing with big streamers like Netflix and platforms like TikTok, cracking down on AI slop, or expanding upon the way creators can get paid.

Users have already noticed changes on the platform, including the the ability to sort search results by upload date, view count, and rating, which changes discoverability. Recent data shared with Digiday from online video editing platform Kapwing shows that YouTube has already drastically cracked down on AI slop.

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Future of TV Briefing: How AI agents prime TV advertising for ‘premium automation’

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how agentic AI can enable TV networks to automate the sales of complex linear TV ad packages.

  • ‘Premium automation’
  • Disney’s next CEO, YouTube’s TV measurement issue, Paramount+’s plans and more

‘Premium automation’

This week we had NBCUniversal’s Ryan McConville on the Digiday Podcast to talk about the company’s test of using AI agents to sell ads against a live NFL game. It was a really insightful, technical conversation. And one thing McConville said has really stuck with me:

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