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Something strange happened to my YouTube feed…
You know me; I’m a proper tech enthusiast… (Nah, not those hoodie-wearing hacker types though.) And don’t even get me started on the ‘what’s new in the tech world’ topic; it always sparks my curiosity.
Especially with the way AI is growing, it feels like ‘everything is new every day.’ But for the last year or so, I’ve been noticing something, and I didn’t like that. So I think I must share it with you… (Moral duty).
I don’t usually say this… But, thank you, YouTube.
For the past year, I’ve struggled with opening the app. Every time I did, I felt like my brain was under pressure. The same weird content would appear on repeat: Cats chasing ducks and syncing to AI music. Italian-style “random” videos where nothing made sense. Lo-fi ASMR where they’d slice glass garlic.
It felt like someone had poured a bucket of internet randomness into my feed and clicked “autoplay forever.” I genuinely wanted to toss my phone across the room. But now… I won’t. Because something changed.
YouTube is finally doing something about it.
They’ve rolled out a major policy update. They're taking a stand against what they call “mass-produced and repetitive” content. Basically, they’re low-effort AI videos that have been flooding our feeds.
These are the kind of videos designed to game the system. Pushed out in huge numbers, chasing ad revenue. And for a while, that model actually worked.
I saw so many Twitter posts and growth experts who were excited about this strategy. By May, 4 out of the top 10 YouTube channels were packed entirely with AI-generated videos. By June, the top four AI-led channels had gained 23 million subscribers and pulled in 800 million views.
One of them, Masters of Prophecy, went from 300 subscribers to over 30 million in just four months…without even uploading new videos during its biggest surge.
So you can imagine the kind of wild growth this wave brought to YouTube.
The rise of low-quality AI content
The past year has felt like a chaotic experiment. AI gave creators powerful tools, and many used them in smart, creative ways. But others simply used it to mass-produce empty content.
The result? A YouTube feed that often felt overwhelming—and even, at times, disheartening.
And I say this as someone who loves AI. I even built an AI product, Mugafi, which helps people create faster and better. But I built it because I believe in storytelling, not shortcuts.
There’s a difference between using AI as a tool… and using it to skip the soul.
But there’s some positive news too.
YouTube is cleaning things up
Between October and December 2024, YouTube:
Removed 9.5 million videos (3 million from India alone)
Deleted 4.8 million low-quality channels
Took down 1.2 billion comments that broke community guidelines
When channels get taken down, all their videos go too. That means over 54 million videos disappeared from the platform during that short period.
That’s a huge cleanup.
Now with the new policy, YouTube is trying to prevent more of that from being created.
If AI-driven channels can’t make money from those videos, they won’t keep producing them.
Why this matters (and why I’m hopeful)
This might not seem like a big deal if you're not deep in creator land—but trust me, it is.
For regular viewers like me (and maybe you), this could finally bring back the kind of YouTube we used to love: Real faces Real voices Actual storytelling People who care about what they’re saying
Not some anonymous channel posting dozens of videos a day.
For creators who relied heavily on automation and “AI hacks”, this will be a major shift. The easy wins might slow down. They’ll have to reconsider how—and why—they make content.
But honestly? That’s a good thing.
Just a reminder...
This doesn’t mean AI is the problem. I still believe it’s one of the most exciting creative tools we have today. It can help us write more clearly, edit more quickly, and save a lot of time that usually goes into repetitive tasks.
But creativity still needs a human spark.
And for the first time in a while, YouTube is making a move that supports that. A move that values stories over shortcuts. And I’m fully behind that.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what your YouTube feed has looked like lately. If you want to add something to what I said, hit reply. I might even include your thoughts in the next edition.
As a creator, I’d really love to know what you think.
Until next time,
Vipul Agrawal | Leeds1888
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