The iceberg of YouTube monetization in Latin America

One normal day, we saw a video of a grandmother carrying trucks, fully recreated with AI. At first, it made us laugh a lot, of course, until we started asking ourselves: what is the reward for making these videos and uploading them to YouTube? Fame? Money? Or is it just about feeding your ego with a lot of subscribers?

Today, I want to show you how Latin America has been using AI, and the strange things people are doing to make money from it, with an endless number of videos testing weird methods to avoid copyright systems; videos that make you ask: why would you even upload that?

So, let’s take a quick look at some of the clips we found and the ideas or systems behind this highly desired monetization.
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YouTube Skeletons.

You have probably already come across one of these skeleton videos. They are AI-made characters used to represent a story or situation. For example, they can start with something like “What if you were raised by a bear?” and from there, the story keeps going day by day, like in most of this type of content.

What really makes them work is not only how strange the idea is, but the full execution made with AI. The editing shows skeletons in motion, a cartoon-style animation, and an opening strong enough to stop the scroll. That “What if?” hook works because it creates instant curiosity and pushes people to watch the full video.

YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kBQJB6J7sjQ


Grandmas carrying trucks are trending.

The name sounds weird, but yes, these are really clips of grandmothers carrying trucks. It is completely ridiculous, but they do not get thousands of views, they get millions, and everything is made with AI.

They are usually older women from some strange part of the world, almost always in a green area, but with a low-income setting. We see trucks trying to rush the grandma while she rides her motorcycle very slowly. Then she gets angry, like when your mom was about to hit you with a sandal, suddenly gets Hulk-level strength, lifts the truck because the driver kept honking at her, and throws it into some river or stream. Yes, those are the clips getting viral fast.

YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/swpZu56LJ5U
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Therians around the world.

I want to include this topic because it has become a kind of mini-series of therian clips doing strange things. It started in Argentina, but it became viral across LATAM.

People recreate these scenes using AI and present them as if they were recordings from security cameras, where we see a therian walking on the street and then a dog bites them. The scene becomes viral because it is a trending topic, it gets laughs from viewers and, most importantly, creates conversation through controversy.

It gets a lot of comments because this kind of content is perfect for people who love to argue. They do not know it is AI, so they assume it really happened. And, like a freshly sharpened knife, they already have their opinions ready to start arguing about what they think is right and what is wrong. Lesson learned: if it is debatable and controversial, it can go viral.

YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dPxFIE2pQbk
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POV with insects.

Another very strange niche that gets millions of views is insect videos with tiny cameras, clearly made with AI. They show the daily life of a scorpion, for example: we see someone putting a small camera on it, and then the scorpion starts its normal day, visits its nest, goes to see its friends, checks on its eggs, and ends the day either eating or going to sleep.

Yes, we really watched a full video about a day in the life of a scorpion. The surprising part is that the one we saw already has 96 million views.

All you need is a “silly” idea that gets comments like: “100% AI,” “It’s fake,” “is IA,” and many more.

YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3HQ2gFlE2T0
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The black market of AI tools.

By this point, you have probably thought: yes, these are good ideas, but the investment must be high because you need different AI subscriptions — one to create the prompt and write the script or improve the idea, another for the image, one more for the voice-over, another to make the video, and an extra one for a better edit.

But that is not exactly true, because we found the black market of AI tools. One provider sells all these tools together as a package for a very cheap monthly price. Around 10 dollars for unlimited access to different AI tools.

You just need to search on Facebook for “AI packages,” and you will find many options. But not everything is perfect: these accounts are shared, which means anyone who buys them can see your ideas, your videos, and everything you create, so the risk is real.

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The final detail before uploading your first video.

We already saw how to make the content, how to avoid copyright, and how the AI black market works. But while going through these YouTube channels, we also found one more important detail.

Most creators upload content in other languages to attract audiences from other countries and, in theory, make more money. On top of that, you also need a VPN to create your YouTube channel in countries that pay better, such as the United States, Mexico, or different parts of Europe. Ad rates there are higher than in LATAM.

We reviewed channels that go viral in just days or weeks and manage to monetize with pieces that get millions of views on YouTube. It is like a Wall Street version of YouTube Latam, where instead of selling shares, you sell AI-made content to attract more investors, or better said, viewers. And if the idea starts losing views, it does not matter that much. You already sold it, monetized it, and now the only thing left is to improve it or move on to the next channel.

The real question is why the internet keeps rewarding anything that can stop the scroll, even when it says absolutely nothing. And in LATAM, this logic is growing fast. We understand that viewers are looking for more instant impact every day, but that does not always mean they are consuming something with real value.

What do you think? Do you believe there is still room for valuable content inside this new universe of AI-made videos?