YouTube Introduces AI Features for Shorts

YouTube has unveiled a new AI feature for its short video service, Shorts, enabling the transformation of images into six-second clips.

the playground is open on Shorts ✨

📷 bring your camera roll to life by transforming photos into videos
🪄 dive into a world of Veo effects and doodle effects
📍 discover our new AI playground, an all in one hub for creation featureshttps://t.co/JtYKb0Ab6x pic.twitter.com/O6dO9e73XJ

— YouTube (@YouTube) July 23, 2025

Users can select a photo from their gallery and create a video from it. The tool offers several options for the uploaded image.

The new feature can be used to animate photos, landscapes, or group shots, according to the company. As an example, it demonstrated how a static image of a pedestrian traffic light can be turned into a short video featuring a dancing character.

Initially, the new tool will be available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with plans for further expansion. A similar feature will be introduced in Google Photos.

Additionally, new AI effects have been introduced. These allow users to transform sketches into artistic images and selfies into videos, such as swimming underwater.

The new toolkit is powered by Veo 2, a video model from Google. All AI-generated content is marked with SynthID watermarks and special labels indicating it was created by artificial intelligence.

YouTube also introduced AI Playground, a new space for working with generative AI, ready-made prompts, and tools.

In April, YouTube launched a new AI feature for creating background music and adding it to videos.