TikTok just held its US Creator Summit, and the announcements paint a very clear picture of the platform’s future: it wants to make life way easier for creators, keep them loyal, and help them make more money. Forget just being the “dancing app”—TikTok is building a full-fledged creator economy to compete head-on with YouTube.

The platform unveiled three major updates: a significant boost to how much subscription money creators can keep, and two brand-new AI-powered tools. One helps you plan your video before you even hit record, and the other, Smart Split, is the real game-changer for anyone who creates long-form content.

Smart Split: your new AI video editor

Let’s be honest, the biggest headache for creators who film podcasts, long vlogs, or detailed tutorials is the editing. Taking an hour-long video and chopping it up into a dozen high-impact, vertical, captioned clips for TikTok is a soul-crushing, time-sucking task.

Smart Split is designed to kill that headache.

Available globally through the desktop TikTok Studio Web platform, this AI tool automatically edits your longer videos (anything over a minute) into multiple shorter clips.

Here’s how it works:

1. You upload your long video, like a podcast recording or a “day in the life” vlog.
2. You can select specific parts of the video you think are interesting, or let the AI take a crack at it.
3. Smart Split then automatically clips the video, reframes it vertically (turning that horizontal YouTube shot into a 9:16 phone screen format), and generates captions and transcriptions.
4. It will even suggest the optimal length for the clips, though you still have the final say.

This is a massive deal. It directly addresses the “repurposing” problem. Now, a creator can film one long YouTube video or podcast and, in a fraction of the time, feed the TikTok algorithm with a steady stream of content. TikTok even suggested it’s useful for footage captured all day by a wearable camera, meaning it can find the “interesting bits” from hours of footage.

AI Outline: beating the blank page

The second tool, AI Outline, tackles the other big creative hurdle: the pre-production phase. We’ve all stared at a blank screen, wondering what to film.

This tool acts as a creative assistant. You can give it a simple prompt (like “beginner baking tips”) or select a topic that’s already trending heavily on the platform. The AI then generates a complete blueprint for your video, including:

• Clickable video titles
• Attention-grabbing hooks
• A six-part video outline or script idea
• Relevant hashtags

Creators can then edit and refine this outline to fit their personal style. It’s like having a brainstorming partner who already knows what the algorithm is looking for.

Unlike Smart Split, AI Outline is getting a more limited release for now. It’s rolling out to creators over 18 in the US, Canada, and “select markets,” with a broader global release planned for the coming weeks.

More money, fewer problems

Perhaps the most critical update for full-time creators is the change to the subscription revenue share. Previously, the model could be a bit confusing, with creators often taking home around 50% of subscription revenue.

TikTok is simplifying this and making it far more lucrative.

The new base revenue share is 70% for creators who offer subscriptions (which give fans perks like exclusive content and badges).

But here’s the kicker: creators can unlock an extra 20% “monthly reward,” boosting their total take-home pay to up to 90% of the revenue (after platform and app store fees).

To get this top-tier 90% share, creators need to be consistent and engaged. The criteria include:

• Having at least 10,000 followers.
• Getting at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
• Posting at least three subscription-only videos in the last 30 days.

This move is a direct shot at competitors like YouTube and Twitch. By offering a 90% share, TikTok is sending a loud-and-clear message to its top talent: stay here, build your community here, and we’ll make sure you get paid properly for it.