Leading YouTube personality MrBeast has expressed concern about how AI might threaten the income of content creators, even though he has experimented with the technology himself. On Monday, he took to social media to share his worries, questioning the potential consequences of AI-generated videos for the “millions of creators currently making content for a living.”
“These are unsettling times,” he remarked.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, tops Forbes’ 2025 list of creators, boasting $85 million in earnings and a following of 634 million. Given his influence, his opinions and actions carry significant weight within the industry. If someone of MrBeast’s stature is questioning whether AI poses a fundamental risk to his business and similar ventures, it stands to reason that smaller creators may be even more anxious.
His remarks come after the debut of OpenAI’s Sora 2, an updated audio and video generation tool, as well as a new mobile app that enables users to create AI-generated content, including self-videos, which are displayed in a TikTok-like vertical feed. The app quickly gained traction, soaring to the top of the U.S. App Store following a spike in downloads.
YouTube has also integrated AI into its platform, rolling out features like AI-powered editing tools that allow creators to produce AI videos using its Veo model, animate static images, or apply various visual styles. AI is also used for generating clips or highlights from live streams and podcasts. Additionally, YouTube Studio now includes an AI chatbot to assist creators with their questions.
Commenters were quick to note that MrBeast himself has engaged with AI. Earlier this year, he faced criticism from both fans and fellow creators after introducing an AI-based tool for generating video thumbnails. He soon removed this feature from his analytics service, Viewstats, and announced plans to offer links to human artists for commissioned work instead.
His company’s charitable division has also occasionally invested in AI initiatives.
There is ongoing discussion about whether the accessibility of AI video tools will make everyone a creator, or if truly outstanding videos will still require human creativity to conceptualize and effectively prompt the technology. Meanwhile, some critics dismiss AI-generated videos as “slop,” considering them low-quality and unwelcome in their feeds.
Even if AI-generated content becomes indistinguishable from human-made videos in the future, creators who use AI without transparency risk losing their audience’s trust and damaging their reputation.
