YouTube is overhauling its Shorts recommendation system to increase exposure for original content and cut recommendations for channels that re-upload other people’s videos with little or no creative work.

Gigazine, a Japanese media outlet, reported on Oct. 6 that YouTube said it has updated Shorts recommendations to give more priority to distinctive content than before. The system decides what videos to show each user by analysing billions of signals, including viewing history, topics of interest and user responses.

The key to the revamp is reducing the reach of simple re-uploads. Content that takes another creator’s video as-is or reposts it without meaningful changes may appear less often in the Shorts feed. Channels that mainly rely on that approach may also see fewer chances to be recommended.

Using someone else’s video is not being restricted in itself. YouTube said creators should provide new value to viewers by adding original commentary, storytelling, perspective or substantive editing to the original. Minor technical tweaks, such as adding subtitles, cropping the screen or changing the aspect ratio, or template-based edits alone may not be enough.

The move aligns with its existing monetisation policy on reused content, but differs in that it is being applied directly to the Shorts recommendation system. YouTube said the goal is to offer viewers more valuable videos while expanding growth opportunities for creators who make content themselves.

In the creator industry, some expect the profitability of clip farming to fall sharply. Big E (빅 E), a creator, said the method of downloading viral videos, making slight changes and then getting millions of views may be coming to an end. Mario Joos (마리오 조스), a strategist who has worked with MrBeast and others, also reacted to the change by saying: "Clipping, rest in peace."