YouTube can drop you into any video, and strangers can pop into yours

June 13, 2026

By Kim Komando

Whoa. That’s me up top on the TV, starring in a futuristic sci-fi flick like I trained for it my whole life. (I didn’t. The closest I get to special effects is yelling at Siri.) And I didn’t shoot a single second of it.

At Google I/O, the platform quietly switched on AI tools that let you drop yourself into someone else’s video or remix their clip with you in the starring role. 

Three billion people are on YouTube. Almost none of them knows this button is sitting there. Now, you do.

🎬 Put yourself in the video 

A new tool called Reimagine is rolling out free in the YouTube app. It takes a single scene from an eligible Short and rebuilds it into a fresh clip with you in it. Want to be the one skydiving, dancing or cooking? A few taps and a selfie, and you’re in. 

The AI generates audio to match. Here’s how to try it:

1. Open the YouTube app and find an eligible Short.
2. Tap Remix, then Reimagine.
3. Type what you want, or pick one of the suggested prompts.
4. Add up to three photos from your gallery. A clear, well-lit selfie works best.
5. Tap Next and let it generate, then preview before you post.

It’s still rolling out, so if you don’t see Reimagine yet, give it a week. Every clip you make links back to the original video, so the creator still gets credit.

🔒 Lock down your own videos 

This is the part nobody’s advertising. Your videos are opted into remixing by default. That means strangers can grab your clips and turn them into AI versions without asking. 

Anything you’ve posted, a birthday clip, a backyard moment, a video of the grandkids, can be fed into the tool by a total stranger. If that makes your skin crawl, change it.

This one’s desktop only, and you set it per video. Annoying, I know. 

1. Go to studio.youtube.com on a computer (not the regular YouTube site).
2. In the left menu, click Content.
3. Check the box next to the video you want to protect. 
4. Click Edit in the bar that appears at the top. 
5. Select Shorts remixing from the drop-down. 
6. Choose Allow only audio remixing or Don’t allow remixing.

The fun and the risk are the same feature. Play with it, then go protect what’s yours. Both take five minutes.

📩 Send this to someone who posts videos of their kids or grandkids online.