YouTube to use AI to automatically upscale low-resolution videos

YouTube has announced a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance videos uploaded in resolutions below 1080p.

The platform will upscale lower-quality clips, with plans to expand support for AI upscaling to 4K in the future.

Both creators and viewers will be able to opt out of automatic enhancement. YouTube emphasized that the original files and resolutions will remain untouched, and users will have the option to switch between the original and the AI-upscaled versions in the settings menu.

In a comment to The Verge, YouTube spokesperson Veronica Navarrete clarified that the feature will apply only to videos originally uploaded between 240p and 720p, meaning older Full HD uploads or re-encoded videos will not be affected.

AI-powered upscaling has long been used by TV and media device manufacturers, including Nvidia’s Shield TV. What sets YouTube’s approach apart is that users will have explicit control over the enhancement feature.

That distinction matters, as many creators have previously complained about YouTube’s algorithms automatically applying “improvements” without consent, sometimes resulting in lost details or unwanted visual artifacts.