The future of YouTube looks a lot like reinventing entertainment, empowering creators, and embracing AI. 

This and more was recently outlined by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan in the platform’s annual roadmap.

For nearly three years, YouTube has been No. 1 in U.S. streaming watchtime, according to Nielsen. Mohan attributed creators whose content is at the center of many living rooms, such as Ms. Rachel, who has received two Children’s and Family Emmy nominations. Creators like these are helping define the next era of entertainment, and YouTube wants to make sure it’s at the forefront of that.  

YouTube positions itself as the epicenter of modern entertainment, where individual creators are evolving into full-fledged media studios. Mohan called out the creators building productions that rival traditional TV and film (think Dhar Mann, MrBeast, Mythical) as they continue to invest in high-quality formats and long-form storytelling. 

A few key highlights:

In the TV space, YouTube continues pushing innovation through YouTube TV, introducing customizable multiview options and numerous specialized subscription plans across genres like sports, entertainment, and news to give viewers control over how they watch. 

Mohan acknowledged YouTube’s role in young people’s learning and exploration. He cited surveys showing that a large majority of young adults and teachers find YouTube valuable for learning new skills. 

To help the platform remain safe and appropriate for children and teens, YouTube is making it easier for parents to set up and manage kid accounts, including switching between supervised experiences, along with new parental controls.

Mohan said YouTube wants to protect without isolating kids from the digital world they increasingly engage with. 

YouTube describes itself as the largest contributor to the creator economy on the planet, having paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the past four years. 

Creators aren’t just entertainers; they’re small business owners and employers. The platform announced a few updates and changes to its monetization options: 

AI is a central theme in YouTube’s 2026 strategy. According to the platform: 

YouTube is also focused on AI transparency and safety:

To maintain overall content quality, YouTube is addressing what it calls “AI slop,” low-quality AI-generated content, by strengthening systems that detect spam, clickbait, and repetitive uploads so viewers continue to have a high-quality experience. 

At the same time, YouTube is using AI to help enhance the viewer experience through features like the Ask tool, which helps users learn more about videos, and through autodubbed content.

So, what do you think about YouTube’s priorities for 2026?

Loti AI, a startup behind likeness and IP protection technology, has partnered with Underscore Talent to help protect its clients against likeness fraud.

"Our partnership with Loti is a major step forward in protecting our creators' digital identities,” said Reza Izad, Co-CEO of Underscore Talent. “By leveraging their Watchtower platform, we’re able to identify and remove deepfakes and impersonator accounts across the open web with incredible speed. It gives our talent the tools they need to maintain total control over their likeness and ensure their content remains authorized and secure."

Through this partnership, Underscore’s digital talent will have access to Loti’s Watchtower platform, which enables them to detect and remove deepfakes, impersonator accounts, unauthorized content, and other threats to their likeness online.

Canva believes the line between slang and professional communication has officially blurred.  

The platform’s new tool, called “Chronically Online mode” is a fully functional language setting that transforms the entire platform’s interface to be more Gen Z speaking.

Canva said there’s been a spike in slang search terms within the app: “slay” is up 98% and “spill the tea” is up 47%. The platform is already seeing users prompt Canva AI with phrases like “main character energy.”

The tool is a setting in Canva that transforms every button, tooltip, and AI chat into internet vocabulary.

To try it, go to Settings in Canva, find the Language section, and select English (chronically online).

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