Auto-Tune doesn’t count as AI on YouTube Music

YouTube Music will not label a song as AI-made if an engineer tweaks a vocal with Auto-Tune or a producer feeds the master into automated AI software.

Both cases sit in the “No Gen AI” class YouTube set for music partners, alongside the AI labels YouTube Music started rolling out on October 14, 2026.

A 100% human song can still be declared partly generated for its video

The examples are listed on YouTube’s help page. An engineer using standard pitch-correction software such as Auto-Tune “to correct minor tuning mistakes in a live vocal performance” falls under No Gen AI.

The same goes for a producer whose automated AI mastering software sets the final balance, compression, and equalization of a track.

Partly Gen AI covers an artist who uses an AI tool to make a bassline or string section and then adds live singing and instruments on top of it. Artists who use AI to come up with ideas for lyrics, write verses with others, or make melodies before going into the studio also end up there.

And a song with 100% human-performed audio still qualifies as Partly Gen AI if a text-to-video model created its music video visuals.

Fully Gen AI is when somebody types a prompt into an AI music generator and downloads the song it spits back. The same tag applies to an artist who has a model generate the composition, instrumental performance, and vocals, even after multiple prompts to improve the output.

The label is on songs “where AI played a significant role,” according to YouTube’s announcement. When users tap it on the player page, a menu pops up that explains how AI was used.

Partners declare through DDEX ERN 4.3.2 or a CSV column

If a partner declares no value, YouTube treats a track as unknown “unless we are able to make a determination based on other signals.”

YouTube said it works with music partners and has its own tools to find tracks that were made by AI. It uses the same rules for labeling that are already used on YouTube.

When partners send content through DDEX ERN 4.3.2 or later, or through CSV delivery templates under their SRAV terms, they declare whether they used AI. Artists who upload through YouTube Studio will mark it in the attribute area.

There is a “contains_ai” column in the CSV route that can be all, partly, none, or unknown. The value “unknown” clears a value that was sent in error.

YouTube lets partners decide how to apply DDEX definitions to their own content.

Labels are also coming to the main YouTube app. AI involvement alone doesn’t make a track ineligible for monetization, TechCrunch reported.

Dream Track, a tool on YouTube, permits select creators to craft soundtracks with AI versions of participating artists’ voices. Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music and TIDAL all run or are planning their own AI labels, with Deezer saying in July that it was receiving close to 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks a day.

Cryptopolitan reported that in September 2026, Suno rebuilt its model lineup on Warner Music Group and BMG catalogues. Last year, Spotify collaborated with the major labels to develop AI products after removing more than 75 million spam tracks.