YouTube is expanding access to its Partner Program, enabling more people in more regions to qualify for monetization of their YouTube clips, while it’s also rolling out a new generative AI feature for Shorts that’ll make you look like a statue that’s been under the sea for 500 years.

It’ll make more sense when I explain it.

First off, YouTube recently reduced the entry thresholds for its YPP program, enabling creators with 500 subscribers (down from 1,000), and far fewer video or Shorts views to monetize their content with YouTube ads.

Initially, the lower entry thresholds were only available to creators in selected regions, but now, creators in 23 more countries will have the opportunity to monetize, at lower entry rates.

That’ll help YouTube boost its appeal to creators in many more markets. And with every other app now also trying to sweeten the deal for creative talent, that could give YouTube a key leg up on the competition.

On another front, YouTube’s now rolling out its first generative AI feature for YouTube Shorts, with an interesting effect called “Bloom” which “turns people into a vibrant topiary structure”.

So a plant, it turns you into a plant, so you end up looking like the remnants of the people left behind in Area X in “Annihilation”.

It’s a bit weird, but also kind of cool, and it’ll likely draw some interest among YouTube creators and users alike.

Which is the real aim. YouTube will be hoping that this is the type of thing that people share with their friends, which then gets more people checking out Shorts, and sharing their own content. YouTube’s also working on a range of other generative AI options, which may include more strange transformation effects in future.

You can learn more about YouTube’s latest updates here.