Google’s ever-improving AI assistant, Bard, has introduced a new capability to analyze YouTube videos and summarize key details like ingredients, instructions, and main points without requiring users to watch the videos. For instance, when prompted about an espresso martini recipe tutorial, Bard accurately provided the full list of ingredients, measurements, and preparation steps needed to make the cocktail. This is an incredibly handy feature that eliminates the friction of having to rewatch videos multiple times to reference or recall important information. However, it also poses risks.

While very convenient for users, having Bard summarize monetized videos instead of watching them may severely degrade the value received by creators. In this case, the full espresso martini recipe is already published on the creators’ website behind a paywall, with the YouTube video driving site traffic. By extracting the recipe directly, viewers completely bypass the paywall and any ads or recommendations on the YouTube video, greatly reducing its revenue value. If this summarization capability is further integrated into YouTube, Bard may regularly preempt users watching videos, drastically impacting creator strategies reliant on driving watch time, retention, and site traffic. Additionally, you can also read about- YouTube Begins Testing New AI Features to Enrich Viewing Experience

The broader risk highlighted is that while innovation aimed at benefiting users is positive, if it directly damages creator value, it raises unresolved ethical issues around how to fairly compensate creators for their content being summarized by AIs. This ongoing challenge around generative AI requires urgent attention as capabilities advance. As Google rolls out enhancements to Bard, it critically needs to ensure creator interests are not severely undermined in order to avoid conflict. The value exchange must go both ways.