An AI draft can sound certain while mixing up separate rules. Underline its claims, check their sources, correct the wording, and inspect the finished video. YouTube's guidance for its own AI creation features tells creators to review that output. Its monetization rules also distinguish original work from repetitive, mass-produced material. See YouTube’s AI creation guidance and channel monetization policies.
A five-pass check for a short script
- Extract claims. Mark numbers, requirements, dates, quotations, product features, and statements that one action causes another result.
- Find the owner of each fact. For a YouTube rule, use YouTube Help. For a product limit, use its current official plan or help page. A search snippet is a lead, not final evidence.
- Compare the precise meaning. Watch for missing conditions: region, feature tier, time window, qualified views, account review, or an exception in the next paragraph.
- Correct or cut. Rewrite supported claims in plain words. Delete a number when its source does not establish it.
- Review the export. The narration, caption, on-screen graphic, description, and source note must say the same thing.
Illustrative AI draft with four claim errors
This invented script contains four errors. It is not a quotation from a user, tool, or published video:
“Upload three AI Shorts daily and YouTube will push your channel. Once you hit 500 subscribers, you get Shorts ad revenue. Your Shorts watch hours count toward the 4,000-hour requirement. YouTube bans AI voices anyway, so use a human voice to stay monetized.”
The first and last lines assert rules YouTube does not publish in that form. The middle two confuse separate Partner Program paths. A smooth script can still mislead viewers.
Claim-by-claim source ledger
| Draft claim | What the primary source supports | Edit |
|---|---|---|
| Three AI Shorts daily make YouTube push the channel. | No daily-upload ranking promise in the cited YouTube eligibility or content policy pages. | Delete the causal growth claim. Recommend a pace that allows original, checked videos. |
| 500 subscribers unlock Shorts ad revenue. | Where available, 500 subscribers plus three public uploads and a watch-hour or Shorts-view threshold can unlock earlier features such as fan funding. Shorts Feed Ads sit at the higher tier. | Name the two feature tiers and their other requirements. |
| Shorts Feed watch hours count toward 4,000 hours. | YouTube says qualified watch hours from Shorts Feed views do not count toward the 4,000-hour long-form threshold. | State the exclusion plainly; keep the qualified Shorts-view route separate. |
| YouTube bans AI voices for monetization. | YouTube's policy gives examples of permitted creative AI assistance and flags repetitive or unoriginal mass-produced content. It does not state a blanket AI-voice ban. | Remove the blanket ban; review originality and applicable disclosure separately. |
The relevant primary pages are YouTube’s feature thresholds, YPP eligibility and qualified watch hours, and originality policy. The absence of a daily ranking promise in these pages is a reason to remove that line, not proof of how YouTube ranks every upload.
Two corrected, source-backed drafts
The original draft mixes two feature tiers. Split it before recording. These are illustrative drafts; check the current thresholds and your region in Studio before using either one.
Draft 1, earlier features: “Five hundred subscribers alone do not unlock Shorts ads. Where YouTube's earlier Partner Program tier is available, it also requires three public uploads in 90 days and either 3,000 qualified long-form watch hours in a year or 3 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days. That tier includes features such as fan funding, not Shorts Feed Ads.”
Draft 2, Shorts ads: “For Shorts Feed Ads, YouTube lists 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 qualified long-form watch hours in a year or 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days. Shorts Feed watch hours do not count toward the 4,000-hour path. YouTube reviews a channel after it applies.”
Time each draft at a natural pace. Shorten or split it again if the conditions cannot be read clearly; leave the AI-voice claim for a separate fact check.
Correct the visuals and description too
- On-screen card: show “Earlier features” and “Ads” as separate rows. Do not put a large “500 = ad revenue” badge on screen while the narration says otherwise.
- Source note: identify the YouTube Help page in the description and link the exact page. Record the access date in your production notes because requirements can change.
- Final replay: listen and read the captions without the draft open. Verify every numeral, unit, and time window again.
The storyboard template gives each visual beat a source and review field. The AI disclosure guide covers labeling questions; disclosure is a different task from checking whether the spoken facts are true.
When should a claim be cut?
Cut a claim if its exact wording has no support or the source is outdated. If its conditions will not fit in a clear Short, narrow the claim or split the video. For example, say “This rule applies in eligible regions” when availability varies.