YouTube announced major updates to live streaming and Shorts at its "Made on YouTube" event in September 2025. This is interpreted as a strategy to fully revamp the live broadcasting and short-form content creation experience, powered by AI technology, and to actively respond to competition with companies like TikTok and Twitch.
First, the live streaming space has seen the largest feature expansion in YouTube's history. The most notable change is the integration of "Playables" games. Popular minigames like Angry Birds Showdown, Cut the Rope, and Trivia Crack can now be played in real-time during live streams, enabling instant interaction with viewers. YouTube hopes this feature will provide a comfortable starting point for new creators to try their hand at streaming, and it's also seen as a move to compete with Twitch, a gaming-focused platform.
Simultaneous horizontal and vertical streaming is now possible. A single broadcast can be presented in landscape mode for desktop users and in portrait mode for mobile users, with chat integrated into one. This feature is aimed at expanding mobile users and is similar to TikTok Live and Apple's latest iPhone video features. YouTube is also expanding its experimentation with "React Streaming," which allows vertical video to interact with other creators' broadcasts in real time.
AI capabilities have also been significantly enhanced. New features include "AI Highlights," which automatically selects memorable moments during a live broadcast and turns them into short content, and "Practice Mode," which allows users to check their settings and equipment status before starting a broadcast. Monetization features include "side-by-side ads," which appear in a split-screen format alongside the video, allowing viewers to maximize advertising impact without compromising immersion. Furthermore, creators can now seamlessly transition to members-only content during a live broadcast, making paid membership content management more flexible.
In the Shorts category, various new features centered around generative AI technology were unveiled. The key feature is "Veo 3 Fast," a Shorts-specific version of Google's text-based video generation model, "Veo 3." It can quickly generate short videos with low latency at 480p resolution, and for the first time, voice support is also available. This feature is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with plans to expand to more countries in the future.
Additionally, technology has been added to overlay the movements of characters in a video onto still images, allowing even static photos to appear as if they were animated. This includes the ability to apply various styles, such as pop art or origami, and to insert characters and props using text alone.
A remix tool called "Speech to Song" was also released. This feature converts dialogue from a video into music for use in other shorts. It's powered by Google's AI music generation model, "Lyria 2." You can create a soundtrack that captures your desired mood by specifying emotional tags like "comfortable," "danceable," and "fun."
Another key feature, "Edit with AI," automatically analyzes raw footage, sorts the best cuts, and creates a draft video with added music and transitions. Voiceovers can also be inserted in English and Hindi, and will be available in select markets initially through Shorts and YouTube's editing app, "YouTube Create."
