YouTube announced on Tuesday that it is broadening access to its "likeness detection" technology, designed to identify AI-generated content like deepfakes, to include professionals across the entertainment sector. This system functions much like YouTube's established Content ID, which scans uploaded videos for copyrighted material and lets rights holders choose to have it removed or monetized. The new feature applies the same principle, but specifically targets digitally simulated faces.

The tool aims to safeguard creators and public figures from unauthorized use of their identity—a frequent issue for celebrities whose likenesses often appear in fraudulent advertisements. Following a limited pilot program with select creators last year, access was widened this spring to encompass politicians, government officials, and journalists.

YouTube now states that the technology is being extended to the entertainment industry, including talent agencies, management firms, and the celebrities they represent. Major agencies such as CAA, UTA, WME, and Untitled Management have provided input and support for the tool. Entertainers do not need to have their own YouTube channel to use the likeness detection feature; it scans for AI-generated content to find visual matches of an enrolled individual's face.

Users can then decide to report the video for privacy violations, submit a copyright takedown request, or take no action. YouTube clarifies that not all content will be removed, as its policies allow for parody and satire. The company also mentioned that future updates will expand the technology to include audio detection.

In a related effort, YouTube has been supporting federal legislation like the NO FAKES Act in Washington D.C., which seeks to regulate the use of AI to create unauthorized replicas of a person's voice and visual likeness. While YouTube has not disclosed how many AI deepfake removals the tool has facilitated to date, it noted in March that the number remains "very small."