MrBeast pulls AI YouTube thumbnail tool after creator backlash
MrBeast removed his AI-powered YouTube thumbnail generator following sharp criticism from other creators. The tool launched last week on his Viewstats platform, aiming to help smaller creators design thumbnails for an $80/month fee.
The backlash hit fast. Top creators like PointCrow and Jacksepticeye slammed the tool for "stealing" their work. PointCrow said the AI was "clearly trained on all our thumbnails and uses them without any creator’s permission," calling it something that "can steal… hard work without a thought." 
MrBeast responded by scrapping the AI tool and replacing it with links to commission human artists instead.
MrBeast stated on X:
"I care more than any of you could ever imagine about the YouTube community.
Obviously I’m the biggest YouTuber in the world and I don’t take that responsibility lightly and so it deeply makes me sad when I do something that people in the community are upset by.""I thought people were going to be pretty excited about it."
"My goal with Viewstats had been to build tools to help creators, but if creators don’t want the tools, no worries."
The tool let users insert themselves into existing thumbnails and recreate other creators’ images using generative AI trained on existing data. This renews ongoing copyright concerns amid lawsuits targeting AI models accused of unauthorized training data use.
MrBeast, with over 385 million subscribers and known as YouTube’s highest-paid creator, has faced other controversies recently, from contestant lawsuits over his Amazon series Beast Games to accusations of exploiting Mayan pyramids in a video.
This latest pull shows the limits of AI tools in creator communities worried about their original content being repurposed without consent.
