YouTube Shorts Update 2025: Everything You Need to Know

YouTube Shorts receives more than 70 billion views daily from all across the globe. Staggering numbers, right? Well, that’s why brands nowadays are relying more on this type of content, mainly to produce quick tutorials, teasers, and viral campaigns.

However, it is crucial to stay updated with YouTube’s latest guidelines if you want to succeed in such a busy and fiercely competitive field. And that’s exactly what we’ll help you do here.

In this post, we will cover all you need to know about the latest YouTube Shorts updates. We’ll also provide an overview of the various changes made to the ‘Shorts’ module during 2025. This will let you understand how far the platform has come. So, let’s begin!

A List of the Most Recent YouTube Shorts Updates

YouTube consistently pushes new Shorts in the recommendation system. So, it undoubtedly gives new creators a chance to go viral. But such a huge reach also comes packed with new challenges, like:

• Hard-to-control discovery.
• Noisy comments.
• The need to quickly craft more polished short-form content.

And that’s exactly what the new YouTube Shorts updates aim to resolve. So, let’s look at how!

1. Featured Places for Shorts (Location Tags)

You can now include ‘featured places’ in Shorts to highlight key places in their descriptions. However, if you don’t add the location tags, YouTube’s ‘auto-tagging’ system will automatically include them unless you disable this option from the Studio.

What This Means for You

If you add featured places, your YouTube Shorts will automatically surface when viewers search for content tied to certain locations, such as events, neighborhoods, restaurants, or travel spots. However, make sure that the tagged location is relevant.

Where Will This Be Useful?

• Area-specific marketing.
• Event coverage.
• Local businesses.
• Travel creators.

2. Subscriber-Only Comments on Shorts (and Also Videos)

The new update provides creators with more precise control over community interactions. For instance, they can now limit the comment section on individual Shorts (and even videos) to paid channel members and subscribers only.

Not only that, they can even set a minimum subscription duration before allowing someone to comment. So, let’s say that the minimum set duration is 24 hours. In such a situation, only people who have subscribed for at least 24 hours will be able to post comments.

Where Will This Be Useful?

You can use this feature on Shorts or videos that receive a lot of irrelevant or negative comments. Doing so will enhance the quality of conversation between your community and channel.

What This Means for You

You can use this update to:

• Lower the volume of abusive or low-quality comments.
• Protect comment threads.
• Reduce spam.
• Reward loyal fans.

3. AI-Powered Comment-Reply Suggestions (Global Rollout)

All creators can now benefit from AI-generated reply suggestions to follow the conversation style and tone of their channel. This means that creators can simply take assistance from the integrated artificial intelligence assistant to respond to people’s comments quickly.

What This Means for You

Using this, you will be able to respond more quickly and consistently. And this will ultimately help you build a better community without making a large investment.

Where Will This Be Useful?

You can use the AI integration feature of this latest YouTube Shorts update to set:

• Custom replies for high-value fans.
• Quick replies for routine comments.

However, if you really want to keep your voice authentic, review the suggestions before posting them.

4. Dual-Format Live Streaming (Horizontal + Vertical)

YouTube has introduced a new strategy in this recent update that simultaneously broadcasts the livestreams to Shorts and traditional viewers. But how is this possible? 

Well, creators can now livestream in horizontal format while automatically making their vertical crop version that displays in the Shorts feed on mobile devices.

What This Means for You

You can use this nifty little update to repurpose your livestream content for YouTube Shorts discovery.

Where Will This Be Useful?

You can use it for anything visually dynamic, such as:

• Events.
• Q&As.

However, you should check the cropping preview to make sure that the system isn’t cutting off important content.

Brief Recap of Other Notable 2025 YouTube Shorts Updates

Now that you’ve seen the most recent updates to the Shorts module, let’s have a look at the other changes that have occurred this year.

1. Improved Shorts Editor Experience (October 2025)

In the early October 2025 creators update, YouTube improved the in-app Shorts editor that helps produce more polished content. Now, creators can easily:

• Add music or timed text.
• Adjust clip timing with snapping/zoom.
• Delete or rearrange clips.
• Edit individual clips in context.
• Preview before upload.

2. Live & Studio Tools (September 2025)

The September 2025 creators update saw improvements to live and studio tools. In this, YouTube deprecated the old version of Studio mobile and added a new feature to invite up to five collaborators per video.

3. (Global) Inspiration Tab (July 2025)

In July 2025’s creators update, YouTube added the ‘Inspiration’ tab to the Studio’s desktop version. This option aimed to help creators quickly get out of a creativity block.

4. Communities & Advanced Mode Refresh (June 2025)

The June 2025 creators update made the following modifications to the whole platform:

• Added ‘shopping product stickers’ on shoppable Shorts.
• Improved the UX of Studio’s ‘Advanced’ mode.
• Replaced the old shopping button in YouTube Shorts.

5. Ad Suitability Changes (May 2025)

With the May 2025 YouTube creators update, the platform started additional ad-suitability reviews. This update caused 24-hour monetization review delays on some uploads.

Conclusion — Bottom Line!

So, to sum up, the platform has taken steps to improve content discovery, filter out irrelevant comments, and make content more polished in the latest YouTube Shorts updates. As this update rolls out, you will see an integrated AI assistant that lets you automate replies and comments for your subscribers and members. You will also get the option of subscriber and members-only comments, location tagging, and better content discovery for short-form content.

Alan Mike

Alan Mike is a seasoned website content writer specializing in SEO-friendly, engaging content. With expertise in various industries, Mike creates clear, informative, and compelling copy to boost user engagement and drive organic traffic for clients.