YouTube Updates: AutoDubbing Issues & New Features for Vertical Live Streams

The Current State of YouTube Auto-Dubbing: Quality Concerns and Risks

YouTube is continuing the gradual rollout of MLA, more commonly known as auto-dubbing. While the prospect of automatically translating content for a global audience is appealing, early tests suggest that the current implementation may not be ready for prime time.

The Quality Gap in AI Translation

Recent examples from creators testing the feature reveal significant shortcomings. The primary issue is the delivery; the dubbed audio often sounds monotonous and lacks the natural intonation of human speech. Furthermore, the actual translation quality has been described as “catastrophic” in some instances, failing to capture the nuance or accuracy of the original German source material.

For creators, this presents a dilemma. While expanding your reach to English-speaking audiences is a priority, doing so with low-quality AI audio can potentially damage your brand and alienate viewers who find the monotonous delivery off-putting.

The Language Recognition Struggle

A recurring technical hurdle is YouTube’s automated language recognition system. Currently, the platform struggles when creators produce content that mixes languages—for example, a German video that frequently uses English terms or phrases. This mixed consumption often leads the system to select the incorrect language for dubbing, creating an unpleasant experience for the viewer and a lack of control for the Creator.

Practical Advice: To Dub or Not to Dub?

Given these issues, you should think twice before enabling auto-dubbing on your content if the quality is not meeting your standards. If you are unsure, consider the following steps:

• Test carefully: Listen to the output of the AI translation before committing it to your public videos.
• Use Community feedback: Create a poll in your Community tab to ask your audience if they find the current auto-dubbing helpful or distracting.
• Wait for manual tracks: It may be more beneficial to wait until YouTube allows you to upload your own language tracks.
• Consider third-party alternatives: While using external AI translation providers often involves a fee, the result is generally more professional and reasonable than the current automated offering from YouTube.

Fixing the “Long Shorts” Display Bug

For many creators, the way “long shorts” are handled in the interface has been a source of frustration. Despite being categorized as Shorts, these videos have frequently appeared as standard long-form videos on certain parts of the platform.

What is Changing?

The YouTube team has indicated that this display issue will be resolved in early December. Once the update is live, long shorts will be displayed correctly across:

• YouTube Studio: Better management and visibility for creators.
• Channel Pages: A more consistent look for viewers browsing your content.
• Subscription Feeds: Ensuring subscribers see the content in its intended format.

The Impact on Performance

It is highly likely that long shorts have performed poorly up until now because they were not being correctly served into the Shorts feed. Because the algorithm and the user interface treated them as standard videos, they missed out on the unique discovery mechanism of the Shorts player. Creators who have been testing this format should expect a potential shift in performance once the early December update ensures they are properly categorized and distributed.

Driving Live Traffic via the Shorts Feed

In a positive move for live streamers, YouTube has fully rolled out (100%) a feature that places reminders for upcoming live streams directly into the Shorts feed.

This is a strategic advantage for Creators who already produce short-form content. By publishing clips on YouTube Shorts, you can now create a direct funnel to your scheduled live events. When you plan a live stream in advance, the platform can suggest it to viewers who are consuming your Shorts, increasing the likelihood of a higher turnout for your broadcast.

If you have not yet explored YouTube Live, this is an excellent time to familiarize yourself with the tool. Integrating short-form promotional clips with scheduled long-form live events creates a cohesive content loop that maximizes viewer retention and discovery.

New Monetization: Understanding YouTube Jewels and Rubies

YouTube is introducing a new monetization system specifically for vertical live streams. While currently limited to US creators, this feature provides a glimpse into the future of fan funding on the platform. This system introduces a three-tier currency structure that differs from traditional Super Chats.

The Currency Triangle: Jewels, Gifts, and Rubies

To understand how this works, it is essential to distinguish between the three different terms used in this ecosystem:

1. Jewels: This is the digital currency that viewers purchase in packages. For example, a viewer might pay $8.99 for 1,000 jewels. Like many digital currencies, YouTube offers “extra” jewels depending on the size of the package purchased, meaning the price per jewel varies based on how much the viewer spends.
2. Gifts: Viewers spend their purchased Jewels to send “Gifts” to the creator during a vertical live stream. These gifts are the visual representation of the tip.
3. Rubies: This is the currency that the Creator actually receives. Every Gift has a fixed ruby value. The exchange rate is straightforward: 1 ruby = 1 cent.

In short: Viewers buy Jewels $\rightarrow$ use them to send Gifts $\rightarrow$ which are converted into Rubies for the Creator’s payout.

How to Enable Virtual Items

For those in supported regions, this feature is managed through a new module called “Virtual Items.” You can find this on the YouTube Partnership or Monetization page, situated alongside other fan funding options like Memberships and Super Chats. To begin earning Rubies, you must explicitly activate this module within your agreements and contracts.

The Trade-off: Jewels vs. Super Stickers

There is a significant caveat to enabling this feature: If you enable jewel gifts, Super Stickers will be disabled.

You cannot use both systems simultaneously; you must choose between the new Jewel/Gift system or the existing Super Stickers. When making this decision, consider your audience’s habits. While Jewels offer a “gamified” experience similar to other streaming platforms (like Twitch), some creators may find that Super Chats and traditional stickers remain more interactive and enjoyable for their specific community.

As this feature rolls out further, it will be important to monitor the actual conversion rates and determine which gifts provide the best value for both the viewer and the Creator’s pocket.

Original transcript

Transcript

MLA or auto-dubbing is being rolled out gradually. We already discussed this last week, and the timeline is still ongoing. I’m sadly very disappointed because our esteemed colleague Mark Molter has already been allowed to test it. It unfortunately sounds super monotonous, it’s a bad translation, and there is still no response from YouTube as to why they don’t simply give viewers more options and save those options. This means that the automated language recognition system is still being used. I touched on the factors last week: The problems with mixed consumption of German and English content lead to incorrect language selection at times, which is unpleasant for everyone involved, especially when the auto-dubbing language is catastrophic. Well, the good Mark allowed us to listen in briefly. That’s why we’re doing it now. This is an original German video that has been dubbed into English: “Hello and welcome to my new video! In this video, I’m starting a multi-part series because what is being offered here is not convincing at all. I think it’s outrageous that you can’t add reasonably good alternatives like haen or similar providers yourself but are practically forced to use this monotonous crap. It just shouldn’t be! If in doubt, consider twice whether you want to offer your content with such a catastrophic AI translation. No, we can also create a poll in the Community tab. But I think it might be better to wait a bit until you can add language tracks yourself and make sure they sound reasonable. Even if it means paying a fee, because it does cost something to use third-party programs. But I believe it’s definitely more meaningful and better than what YouTube is currently producing.”

Okay, let’s move on to some pleasant news. A little mood lifter. The YouTube team has indicated that the long shorts will finally be displayed correctly in YouTube Studio, on the channel page, and in the subscription feed in early December. This is, of course, a sensible thing. So far, they have always appeared as videos even though they are already categorized as shorts. A really terrible story that will get better in early December. They will finally be shown properly, which is a step in the right direction. Have you already produced and tested lots of shorts? Let me know. I wouldn’t be surprised if they perform poorly because they are currently not available in the shorts feed and so on. A really bad story. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Then, as we already discussed in recent weeks, there will be a reminder of upcoming live streams in the shorts feed, and this has now been fully rolled out to 100%. There was also a tweet about it from the YouTube team. I think this is a nice feature. If you already publish clips on YouTube Shorts, it’s also sensible to familiarize yourself with YouTube Live. Because if you have many opportunities that might perform well, your live stream will be suggested accordingly when you plan it in advance. A meaningful step, in my opinion. If you have questions about how to get started with YouTube Live or anything, feel free to share them in the comments. I’m collecting information for a video and can then confirm or debunk myths. I’m excited about that!

And yes, as I said, I look forward to your feedback. Let’s stay with vertical live streams, specifically in the shorts feed, but move on to vertical live streams. In the coming weeks, so-called YouTube Jewels or Jeels will be introduced, unfortunately only for US creators. Still, listen up because maybe all this stuff will come to us eventually, and we can already learn what we want to do with it. So, a quick recap: Jeels are a digital currency that viewers can buy in packages. Those of you who game will recognize this from having digital currencies somewhere. For 1000 jewels, you can pay $8.99 and get some extra jewels. The more you spend, the more extras you get. Therefore, the exact price of jewels varies depending on the package purchased. That’s good or bad. Microtransactions are always a tricky topic. Jewels can only be used in vertical live streams for so-called gifts or in the…

Gifts and Rubies: An Overview

The English gifts that are bought with jewels have a fixed ruby value. Here is an important distinction we need to make:

Jewels and Gifts: A New Monetization Feature

• Jewels: These are what viewers purchase.
• Gift: The gift that costs jewels and generates rubies for the creator.
• Rubies: The currency paid out to creators, with a fixed exchange rate of 1 ruby = 1 cent.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments! I can explain it again or provide a visual representation if needed. Rubies are counted as your earnings, but the exact price of gifts is not yet known. I’ll be sending out my “spies” in the English and American markets to gather more information on pricing and the conversion rate between jewels and rubies. We can then create a list to see which gifts are worth it and how much reaches the creator’s pocket.

Using Jewels

This feature is not yet available in Germany, but here’s a preview: There’s a new module on the YouTube Partnership or Monetization page called “Virtual Items.” It’s located in the same area as Fan Funding (Memberships), Super Chats, and Shorts Ads. To use this feature, you need to activate the module in your agreements/contracts. Important: If you enable jewel gifts, Super Stickers will be disabled. So, you can choose to use either one or the other, but not both simultaneously. Personally, I find Super Chats more interactive and enjoyable for creators compared to Super Stickers.

For more details about this launch, check out the video description, including a link to the YouTube Forum. Stay tuned to this channel for updates on availability outside the US. See you next week! Keep grinding!

Sources

• Danke @M1Molter für das Beispiel! Falls ihr selbst mal reinhören möchtet
• Mehr Infos zu Jewels

Confused about YouTube's new features? We break down AutoDubbing issues and upcoming changes for vertical live streams. For more insights, check out our YouTube Tips & Tricks in English, or contact our expert below.