Damien Wilde / Android Authority
In brief
- YouTube adds a new AI tool to help creators recover a hacked account.
- The new tool will initially be available to select developers, but will eventually be rolled out to everyone.
- The new tool for recovering hacked accounts is also currently only available in English.
Has your Facebook, YouTube or other online account ever been hacked? You are definitely not alone, as this is becoming more and more common as hackers’ tools and methods have become more sophisticated in recent years. Now, Google is fighting back by introducing a new tool that is supposed to help you recover a hacked YouTube account, as described in an official post on the YouTube support site (via Android Police.)
If you believe your account has been hacked, you can access the new troubleshooting tool through the YouTube Help Center. The tool uses artificial intelligence to guide you through the recovery process without having to contact Google Support directly. This includes asking you a series of questions about your channel, such as any recent unauthorized changes to the account.
If Google’s tool confirms that the YouTube account has been hacked, it will allow users to regain control faster than with older methods. Previously, recovery required contacting Google support and potentially waiting a long time while the company checked everything.
As you can imagine, there are some limitations. First, Google says this feature is currently only available to certain developers. It’s not clear who these people are, although they’re likely more established and proven accounts. The good news is that Google says the feature will be made available to all developers in the future, likely once it’s assured that it works as intended. The tool is also only available in English, at least for now.
It’s also important to note that even if your account has been hacked, there’s no guarantee the tool will be able to verify your information. If you run into any issues, Google says you can contact @TeamYouTube on X (formerly Twitter) for further assistance.
While some may see this new tool as a way to divert resources from customer service to save costs, AI tools like this can be much faster and less hassle than trying to get in touch with a real person. It all comes down to the accuracy of the tool and whether it can actually verify hacked accounts better than a human representative. We hope the new tool feels like an upgrade and works in most cases; otherwise, it could end up feeling like another unnecessary step in an already lengthy recovery process.
