YouTube has a copyright issue. While the platform’s AI-powered Content ID prevents illegal uploads of copyrighted material, it often hits legitimate creators with copyright claims even if they haven’t violated YouTube’s policies. Thankfully, the company is adding a new “Checks” tool that can help you spot potential copyright claims before a video is published, and avoid blocked or demonetized videos—or worse.
To use the new Checks tool, just open YouTube Studio on desktop and upload your video like normal. YouTube’s Content ID checks for copyrighted material as it’s uploading, and analyzes the video’s content, description, and metadata for “Ad Suitability” issues.
YouTube says the copyright scan only takes a few minutes, while Ad Suitability checks take longer to complete. It’s best to publish the video after the checks are done, but users can publish videos while the checks are still running and then check on them later.
Once the Checks process is complete, you’ll see green checkmarks if you pass, or yellow/red alerts if there’s an issue with your video.
Don’t worry if you get an alert—these are preemptive notifications so you can address issues before a video is public. Claims against you only go into effect after the video is published, so make sure you edit your video or dispute the claim to avoid demonetization, blocked or removed videos, and further copyright claims that could harm your channel.
G/O Media may get a commission
What to do if you get a copyright or Ad Suitability alert
Copyright alerts
For copyright claims, you can:
- Use YouTube studio’s built-in editing tools to trim, mute, or replace the flagged portion of the video.
- Edit and re-upload a new version of the video with the copyrighted section removed.
- Dispute the claim. If you do, ad revenue is held until the dispute is settled.
- Publish the video without addressing the issues. This may affect its visibility and any ad revenue will go to the rights holder if you do not fix or dispute the claim. In some cases, videos can be blocked if the copyright claims are severe enough and aren’t addressed.
Ad suitability alerts
If your video is flagged with an Ad Suitability alert, you can either update the video and/or its metadata to fix the issue, or dispute the claim.
YouTube’s official announcement post includes guidelines for updating metadata and editing your video’s content to solve ad suitability issues.
If you opt to dispute the Ad Suitability alert, a real person will review your video against YouTube’s Ad Suitability policies, and will email you once a verdict is reached. This can take several days to complete.
It’s important to note videos are only scanned for potential Content ID claims during the initial upload. Manual copyright strikes can still happen after a video is published, and future Ad Suitability issues are possible if changes to YouTube’s ad policies make your metadata outdated. Still, YouTube hopes the new Checks will make Content ID claims easier to deal with.
