YouTube has announced a series of updates to its auto-dubbing tool, aimed at making it easier for users to discover and enjoy creators from around the world without language barriers. The enhancements are designed to ensure that global stories feel local, with viewers now able to explore international content as easily as pressing play.

The platform has expanded auto-dubbing access to all users, increasing language support to 27 languages. In December, YouTube recorded an average of more than 6 million daily viewers who watched at least 10 minutes of auto-dubbed content, highlighting growing demand for multilingual viewing.

Beyond translation, YouTube is also focusing on tone and authenticity. It has launched Expressive Speech across all channels in eight languages, including English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The feature is designed to retain a creator’s original emotion and energy in dubbed videos.

To give viewers greater control, YouTube has introduced a Preferred Language setting. While the platform already defaults language selection based on viewing history, users can now manually indicate whether they prefer dubbed content or original audio, offering more flexibility for multilingual audiences.

In a move to enhance realism, YouTube is also testing a Lip Sync pilot. The feature subtly aligns speakers’ lip movements with translated audio, making dubbed videos appear more natural and seamless.

The company has also introduced several enhancements for creators. A new Automatic Smart Filtering system identifies content such as music videos or silent vlogs that should not be dubbed, helping preserve authenticity. YouTube has reiterated that auto-dubbing does not negatively impact a video’s discovery algorithm and may improve reach in other languages. Creators also retain full control, with the option to upload their own dubs or disable the feature entirely.

Reaffirming its commitment to creative autonomy, YouTube said it aims to give creators full agency over how their stories are told in every language, while allowing viewers to choose how they listen. The platform has encouraged users to look out for auto-dubbing as it continues to roll out the next generation of global storytelling.