MrBeast is killing his video thumbnail generator after creators revolted — but it won't stop the AI tide
MrBeast is shuttering an AI thumbnail generator after backlash from the creator community.
YouTube's biggest star was receptive to criticism from his peers.
Will Meta, TikTok, or YouTube listen if their AI tools spark similar outrage?
The feature allowed users to generate video thumbnails by mimicking aspects of existing video art, including swapping in faces and other modifications.
"You've made something that can steal my (and my artists) hard work without a thought," Twitch and YouTube streamer PointCrow (Eric Morino) wrote on X.
Now, MrBeast is backpedaling. In a video posted Thursday, he said he's killing the AI feature and instead directing users of his Viewstats platform to hire human designers.
"I care more than any of you could ever imagine about the YouTube community," he said. "It deeply makes me sad when I do something that people in the community are upset by."
The backlash to MrBeast's tool shows the tightrope walk that companies must navigate when introducing AI features for creators. There's a fine line between automating work to help influencers save time, and offering shortcuts that creators view as displacing or stealing their work.
AI is coming hard for creators
MrBeast's thumbnail generator is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to disruptive AI tech hitting the creator community. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube are all marching forward with AI tools that will change how videos are made, and what ultimately gets watched. And I'd wager they're going to be less receptive than MrBeast to backlash.
TikTok users can now turn static photos into AI-generated videos, and YouTube is planning to bring its AI video generator tool Veo 3 to Shorts this summer. If Veo 3 is good enough to produce a TV commercial, it's likely to make a big splash on YouTube. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said earlier this month that he's "incredibly excited by the potential of AI tools to empower human creativity."
You'd be hard pressed to find a creator platform that's not getting overrun with AI these days. Pinterest users are finding AI images are taking over their grid, and music streamer Deezer recently revealed that 18% of all new songs uploaded to its platform are fully AI-generated. There's even a wave of startups helping users automate the entire process of creating and uploading videos to TikTok.
Creators can rage against MrBeast, but the biggest players in generative AI are racing ahead. Even as MrBeast has shuttered his short-lived AI thumbnail generator, it's still incredibly easy for creators to generate thumbnails using other AI tools from the likes of OpenAI and Midjourney.
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29 Of The Best Beauty Products You've Seen In A While
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Woman in $23K Debt Asks ChatGPT for Help—the Result Is Eye-Opening
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman desperate to pay off her $23,000 in credit card debt has made a major dent in the money owed, after using AI to help her change her habits. Jennifer Allan, 35, a realtor and content creator living in Delaware, told Newsweek she has "struggled with money my whole adult life." "Not because I don't make enough, but because I was never taught financial literacy. I avoided budgeting and I figured if I just kept working harder, I could out-earn the problem. That worked... until it didn't," she said. Things "unraveled" after her daughter was born, after a traumatic start which involved the NICU along with general postpartum recovery and everything else that comes with becoming a parent to a newborn. "I shut down emotionally, and I used credit cards to keep our life afloat. We weren't living lavishly. We were just surviving. But the debt piled up while I wasn't looking," she said. Eventually, Allan knew she had to make a change—and she used AI to give her the "momentum" she needed. After being inspired by online 30-day challenges, she decided to challenge herself to "use ChatGPT every day for 30 days to help me pay off debt—whether that was brainstorming side hustles or just giving me a little structure." And it paid off. Each day, the bot would suggest one challenge for Allan to save or earn money, from cancelling one subscription, selling items on Facebook Marketplace, filing for any unclaimed money, and even searching for coins in old purses and between couch cushions—which earned Allan over $100. A major win for Allan was the bot suggesting she look through every app and account—and between a brokerage account she wasn't aware she had, and finance apps such as Venmo, Allan discovered more than $10,000. Jennifer Allan speaking in a video about her finance challenge. Jennifer Allan speaking in a video about her finance challenge. TikTok @_jenn.allan In June, Allan shared a clip to her TikTok account @_jenn.allan, revealing she had hit day 30 of her challenge—and over the past month, had paid off $12,078.93 "I'm super, super happy with that. I've essentially paid half of my debt off," she told the camera, revealing one aspect of the challenge was to create a meal plan for the rest of the month based only on the food she had in her pantry. She had saved almost $600 in a month, having previously spent around $800 a month on groceries. TikTok users had a big reaction, one calling it "so impressive," and another writing: "I might need to do this as a single mom, that would be life changing money in savings." Allan is now planning to take up another challenge, this time changing the prompt to pay off the remainder in 30 days. "It wasn't some big financial hack," Allan told Newsweek. "It was the act of facing it every day—of tracking it, talking about it, looking at it every day. I stopped being afraid of my numbers. I built a debt tracker. "I started sharing my journey publicly. And for the first time in my life, I didn't feel ashamed. I felt empowered, like I could conquer anything." Read more 5 unexpected things you should be using ChatGPT for, according to AI expert 5 unexpected things you should be using ChatGPT for, according to AI expert Allan's situation is far from unique: household debt across the United States hit $18.2 trillion dollars in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For anyone else struggling with debt and considering making a similar change, Allan advised: "Don't wait until you feel ready or 'smart enough' to start. You don't have to know all the answers—you just have to stop pretending it's not happening." She suggested finding a way to "make it fun," explaining: "For me, using AI gave me a sense of structure without judgment, and TikTok allowed me to hold myself accountable because [the] community I had built was showing up every day waiting for the next task." Do you have a similar monetary dilemma? Let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
