As a content creator, putting hours of work into a YouTube video only for it to get flagged due to a copyrighted track that you unknowingly used in the clip can get frustrating, to say the least. In the past, when this happened, creators had the option of muting all the audio in the copyrighted segment or removing the copyrighted segment from the video entirely. Neither of these two options is ideal in most cases, however, given that the essence of the video can be lost by trimming or muting important parts of the clip. But this is set to change with YouTube’s updated AI eraser tool.

YouTube creators can now use the eraser tool to remove copyrighted music from their videos without it affecting other audio elements, like sound effects and dialogue (via TechCrunch). This feature was released on July 4 and made public by Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, in a post on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter).

The post read, “Good news, creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyright-claimed music from your video (while leaving the rest of your audio intact).” It also included a video that listed the various options creators have to resolve copyright claims for music, a demo of how to use the eraser tool, and where creators can find this option.

The video noted that YouTube has been testing this feature for a while but delayed its release since it wasn’t always accurate. The updated eraser tool, however, uses AI to detect copyrighted music and remove it seamlessly from the video without letting it affect other audio.

This feature undeniably makes it easier for YouTube creators to deal with copyright claims. However, the company notes on its support page that the erase feature might not work if “the song is hard to remove.” In this case, YouTube recommends using other editing options, like trimming the copyrighted segment out of the video or muting all audio in the segment, as workarounds.