How to Start a Faceless YouTube Channel in 2026, Complete Beginner Workflow

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A faceless YouTube channel is a channel that produces consistent, professional content without the creator ever appearing on camera or recording their own voice. The content is built from AI tools, a written script, an AI narration voice, AI-generated or curated visuals, auto-captions, and an exported video file, published to YouTube and left to accumulate views, watch hours, and eventually AdSense income.

In 2026, the AI production infrastructure for this has matured to the point where a single creator using Clippie AI can produce a complete, professional-quality 10-minute YouTube video in under 60 minutes from a finished script. No video editing experience required. No recording equipment. No production team.

This guide is the complete beginner workflow, from choosing a niche to publishing the first video to hitting the 30-day plan that builds toward monetisation.

Executive Summary

This guide is for creators who are starting a faceless YouTube channel in 2026 with no prior production experience. It covers niche selection (the highest-leverage decision in channel building), the end-to-end AI production workflow using Clippie AI, realistic monetisation expectations at each stage, the first 30-day plan, and the exact Clippie AI setup. By the end, you will have a clear operational system for producing and publishing your first videos and building toward YouTube Partner Programme eligibility.

Table of Contents

1. What a Faceless YouTube Channel Is, And Why 2026 Is the Best Time to Start

2. Niche Selection, The Most Important Decision You Will Make

3. The End-to-End AI Production Workflow, From Script to Published Video

4. Setting Up Clippie AI for Your Faceless Channel

5. Realistic Monetisation Expectations, What to Expect and When

6. The First 30-Day Plan, Week by Week

7. Frequently Asked Questions

What a Faceless YouTube Channel Is, And Why 2026 Is the Best Time to Start

A faceless YouTube channel publishes video content in which the creator never appears on screen, never records their own voice for narration, and never requires traditional video production infrastructure.

The content is produced entirely through AI tools:

• The script is researched and written (with AI assistance)

• The voiceover is generated by an AI narrator from the script

• The visuals are AI-generated footage and images, or sourced and assembled content

• The captions are auto-generated and synced to the voiceover

• The final video is exported and uploaded to YouTube

The viewer experiences a professional, engaging educational or entertainment video. The creator experienced a 60-minute production session in front of a laptop.

Why 2026 Is the Right Time to Start

AI production quality has crossed the credibility threshold: AI voiceover in 2026 sounds indistinguishable from professional narration to most viewers. AI-generated footage from VEO3.1 and Seedance 2.0 produces cinematic quality that previously required expensive stock footage licensing. The quality gap between AI-produced faceless content and traditional production has effectively closed for the content types that faceless channels produce.

The AI production system is now integrated: Until recently, a faceless creator needed 4–5 separate tools to produce a video. In 2026, Clippie AI handles the complete workflow, voiceover, footage, captions, and export, in one integrated production session. The technical barrier to consistent production has been removed.

The category is growing but not yet saturated at the sub-niche level: High-CPM faceless channel niches, tax strategy, business law, estate planning, B2B strategy, have enormous search demand and limited quality competition. The window to build sub-niche authority before these categories become crowded is open right now.

Niche Selection, The Most Important Decision You Will Make

Niche selection determines the ceiling of what a faceless channel can earn and how quickly it can grow. It is worth spending significantly more time on than most beginners allocate.

The temptation is to start immediately, pick a broad topic, begin producing. This typically results in a channel that generates views in a low-CPM category, cannot build topical authority because the content is too broad, and struggles to reach monetisation before the creator's motivation depletes.

The better approach is strategic niche selection before the first video is scripted.

The 4-Question Niche Selection Framework

Question 1: What Is the CPM Potential?

CPM (cost per mille) is the amount advertisers pay per 1,000 video views. The niche determines the CPM, not the creator's view count, skill level, or production quality.

High-CPM niches ($8–$30+ CPM):

• Finance: investing, tax strategy, personal finance, real estate

• Legal: business law, consumer rights, estate planning, employment law

• Business: B2B strategy, entrepreneurship, agency building, SaaS

• Science and technology: AI, emerging technology, research science

• Health and medical: nutrition, mental health, medical research

Low-CPM niches ($1–$5 CPM):

• General entertainment, gaming, reaction content

• Most celebrity or pop culture content

• Broad motivational content without a specific professional audience

A channel generating 100,000 monthly views at $3 CPM earns approximately $165/month. The same channel at $15 CPM earns approximately $825/month. The niche decision at the start determines this difference for the entire life of the channel.

Question 2: Is There Sufficient Search Demand at the Sub-Niche Level?

The channel should target a specific sub-niche rather than a broad category. "Investing" is a category. "Tax strategy for self-employed people" is a sub-niche. The sub-niche has less competition and builds topical authority faster.

To validate search demand:

• Use YouTube's search bar to test key phrases in the sub-niche, does the autocomplete suggest specific queries?

• Check whether the top-ranking videos for the sub-niche's primary queries have fewer than 500K views, this indicates the category has not been fully claimed by dominant channels

• Identify 50+ distinct video topics within the sub-niche, this confirms sufficient depth for a 2-year publishing programme

Question 3: Can You Research This Accurately?

High-CPM niches require factual accuracy. Finance content requires correct numbers and regulatory facts. Legal content requires accurate representation of law and clear disclaimers. History content requires verified dates, names, and events.

The question is not whether you are an expert, it is whether you can research the sub-niche accurately from primary and secondary sources, identify and avoid misinformation, and consistently produce content that is factually correct.

For niches that require professional expertise for accuracy (medical advice, legal advice, financial advice), every video must include a clear disclaimer that the content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

Question 4: Is the Competition Manageable at Sub-Niche Level?

Use YouTube search to evaluate the competitive landscape for the sub-niche's primary queries:

• Are there channels with 500K+ subscribers specifically covering this sub-niche?

• What do the top 3 ranking videos look like, are they high quality or do they have exploitable gaps (outdated, thin content, poor production)?

• Are there specific audience segments within the sub-niche that existing channels underserve?

The sub-niche is viable if: existing top-ranking videos have identifiable quality gaps, no dominant channel with 500K+ subscribers specifically owns the sub-niche, and specific audience segment gaps are visible.

The Best Starting Niches for New Faceless Channels in 2026

Tax strategy for self-employed and freelance workers: High CPM ($18–$35), moderate competition at the specific sub-niche level, deep content pipeline (new tax questions every year), strong affiliate ecosystem (tax software).

Consumer rights and employment law basics: High CPM ($12–$25), low competition (legal content on YouTube is dramatically underserved), mass-market audience with active legal situations creating urgent search intent.

Estate planning and wills: High CPM ($10–$22), very low competition relative to search demand, deep content pipeline for an aging and increasingly wealthy population.

AI and technology for specific professional audiences: Growing CPM, technology companies advertising to professional audiences, excellent content pipeline with new developments weekly.

Faceless Reddit story or dark cartoon narrative channels: Lower CPM but extremely high engagement and sharing, excellent for building audience volume quickly before layering higher-CPM content.

The End-to-End AI Production Workflow, From Script to Published Video

This is the complete weekly production system that a beginner can execute consistently, from topic selection through to the video live on YouTube.

Stage 1: Topic and Keyword Selection (30 Minutes)

Step 1: Select the week's video topic from the content calendar. The content calendar should contain 50+ potential topics identified during the niche research phase.

Step 2: Validate the keyword using YouTube's search results. Search the topic's primary query and check:

• What are the top 3 ranking videos covering this exact query?

• What is the search intent, informational, navigational, or educational?

• Are there aspects of this topic that the existing top videos do not cover well?

Step 3: Write the video's working title. It should:

• Include the primary keyword near the start

• Clearly promise an outcome or specific knowledge gain

• Include a number, year, or "step-by-step" where relevant

• Be under 70 characters for optimal display in YouTube search results

Stage 2: Research and Script Writing (60–90 Minutes)

Research (30–45 minutes): Research the topic from 3–5 primary or reputable secondary sources. For finance and legal content, primary sources are essential (IRS publications, official government resources, established financial publications). For history and science content, peer-reviewed sources and established academic publications.

Write 8–12 key facts, statistics, or insights that will form the substance of the video. Verify each one, do not publish unverified claims.

Script writing with AI assistance (30–45 minutes):

Use ChatGPT to generate a first draft:

"Write a [length]-minute YouTube educational video script about [specific topic]. Target audience: [describe]. Primary keyword: [keyword]. Structure: (1) Hook that validates the viewer's search intent in the first 30 seconds, (2) Brief executive summary of what the video covers, (3) [3–5] main sections each covering [specific aspect], (4) Practical takeaways the viewer can act on, (5) CTA to subscribe and comment. Use these key facts I've researched: [paste research notes]. Short paragraphs under 4 lines. No filler phrases. Conversational but authoritative tone."

Review the draft for factual accuracy, add specific examples from the research, sharpen the hook, and confirm the CTA is specific and action-oriented. This review typically takes 20–30 minutes.

Stage 3: Production in Clippie AI (45–65 Minutes)

Navigate to clippie.ai/generate/ai-video to begin the production session.

Voiceover generation (5–8 minutes): Paste the complete script into Clippie AI's voiceover generator. Select the channel's established narrator voice from the 50+ library, or use the custom cloned voice if already set up. Generate the narration. Listen to the hook delivery and the first section transition, confirm the pacing and tone are correct before proceeding.

Visual generation (20–30 minutes): Generate 5–8 visual assets per video, a combination of Seedance 2.0 footage for narrative and character-forward sections, VEO3.1 footage for environmental and documentary-style sections, and AI-generated images for static title cards and concept illustrations.

For each section of the video, identify the primary visual need and write a prompt:

VEO3.1 for finance/business establishing shots: "VEO3.1: Slow cinematic pan through a professional financial district at dusk, glass towers, golden hour light, documentary aesthetic, photorealistic 4K"

Seedance 2.0 for motivational or narrative sections: "Seedance 2.0: Cinematic scene of a lone figure at a mountain summit at sunrise, aspirational and weighted, slow static shot, film grain, 4K"

AI image for static concept illustration: "Clean editorial illustration, dark navy background, minimal and sophisticated, no text, high quality professional design"

Caption generation and review (5–8 minutes): Activate speech-to-subtitles in Clippie AI. Captions auto-sync to the voiceover. Review for proper nouns, technical terms, and numbers, the three most common accuracy issues. Confirm the hook line and CTA are perfectly transcribed.

Export (5–8 minutes): Export in 16:9 for YouTube long-form and 9:16 for any short-form clips from the same session.

Stage 4: Publishing Preparation (20–30 Minutes)

Thumbnail creation: Use Canva with a consistent channel template. For faceless YouTube channels:

• High-contrast design that reads clearly at mobile thumbnail size

• Under 3 words of text

• A visual that creates curiosity or emotional tension related to the video's topic

• Consistent branding elements (colour palette, font) across all channel thumbnails

YouTube description: Write a 150–250 word keyword-optimised description:

• First 2 sentences contain the primary keyword and clearly describe what the video covers

• Include 3–5 related keywords naturally within the description

• Include timestamps for each main section (YouTube uses these for search indexing)

• Include affiliate links for relevant products in a "Resources mentioned" section

• Subscribe CTA

Tags: Add 8–10 relevant tags including the primary keyword, related terms, and the channel's niche category.

Schedule: Upload and schedule for Tuesday–Thursday, 2–5 PM in the target audience's primary timezone.

Setting Up Clippie AI for Your Faceless Channel

The Clippie AI setup process establishes the channel's voice identity and visual system before the first video is produced, ensuring every subsequent video sounds and looks like it belongs to the same channel.

Step 1: Create Your Clippie AI Account

Go to clippie.ai/generate/ai-video and create an account. Select the plan that matches your initial production volume:

Lite, $19.99/month: Right for testing the workflow and producing 1 video per week initially (3–5 videos per month)

Creator, $34.99/month: Right for a 2-video-per-week channel from launch, the primary recommended plan for serious channel building

Step 2: Select or Clone the Channel's Narrator Voice

The narrator voice is the most important channel identity element. It will be heard in every video the channel produces, and consistent audio identity builds the audience recognition that converts viewers into subscribers.

Option A: Select from the 50+ voice library: Browse Clippie AI's voice library and test 3–4 candidates on the channel's primary topic hook line. Select the voice that most closely matches the channel's intended authority register:

• Finance and legal: measured, authoritative, mid-lower pitch

• History and science: documentary-style, clear, slightly formal

• Motivational: warm, energetic, genuine

• True crime and dark narrative: atmospheric, deliberate, weighted

Option B: Clone a custom voice: If building a proprietary channel audio identity from day one, record a 2–3 minute clean audio sample in a quiet environment. Upload to Clippie AI's voice cloning feature (available on all paid plans). Test the clone on the first video's hook line before committing it as the channel's primary voice.

Step 3: Build the Visual Prompt Library

Before producing the first video, write 8–10 prompt templates for the channel's most common visual needs. Saving these templates eliminates the time of writing prompts from scratch for each video and ensures visual consistency:

Template set for a finance channel:

• Establishing shot (professional environment)

• Human element (person in professional context)

• Concept illustration (abstract financial concept)

• CTA background (clean dark minimal)

Template set for a history channel:

• Period establishing shot (natural environment, historical period)

• Documentary close detail

• Map or geographic context

• Character-present narrative scene

Store these templates in a simple document that is open during every Clippie AI production session.

Step 4: Set Up the Content Calendar

Before producing video 1, build a 30-video content calendar for the channel's sub-niche. The discipline of having 30 potential topics identified before starting prevents the topic-selection anxiety that breaks most new channels within the first month.

How to build 30 topics in under 60 minutes:

1. Identify the 5 most common questions in the sub-niche (use Reddit, Quora, YouTube comments)

2. For each question, identify 4–6 more specific sub-questions or related angles

3. The result is 20–30 specific, searchable video topics with distinct angles

The content calendar is the production system's engine, it ensures every production session begins with a clear, validated topic rather than time spent deciding what to make.

Realistic Monetisation Expectations, What to Expect and When

Setting honest expectations before starting is one of the most important services a beginner's guide can provide. Most failed faceless channels do not fail because of poor production, they fail because the creator expected income faster than the platform delivers it and stopped publishing before the compounding momentum activated.

The YouTube Partner Programme Threshold

YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) eligibility requires:

• 1,000 subscribers

• 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months

• A linked AdSense account

The realistic timeline:

For a faceless channel in a high-CPM niche posting twice per week:

• Months 1–3: Building the video catalogue, generating initial search traffic, early subscriber growth

• Months 4–7: Accumulated watch hours growing as more videos rank, subscriber momentum building

• Months 8–14: YPP eligibility typically reached for consistent, quality channels

The timeline varies significantly based on niche competitiveness, keyword targeting quality, and content quality. Some channels reach YPP in 6 months; others take 18 months. The variable that most affects the timeline is consistency, channels that publish twice per week every week compress the timeline compared to channels that post sporadically.

Pre-Monetisation Income: Affiliate Links From Day One

Affiliate income does not require YPP eligibility. A video published on day 1 can include affiliate links in the description that generate commission on every purchase made by a viewer who clicks.

The most valuable affiliate opportunities for high-CPM faceless channels:

• Finance channels: investing platform affiliates ($50–$200 per account), budgeting app affiliates ($20–$50), book affiliates (4–8%)

• Legal channels: document service affiliates ($20–$75 per service), legal tech platform affiliates

• Business channels: SaaS tool affiliates ($50–$200 per subscription), business banking affiliates

Start building affiliate relationships in month 1. Include relevant affiliate links in every video description from the first upload. The income is small at first, $20–$50/month in months 1–3, but it grows with the channel and provides meaningful income before AdSense activates.

Realistic Income Projections by Stage

At 3 months (5–10K monthly views):

• AdSense: Not yet eligible (pre-YPP)

• Affiliate income: $20–$80/month

• Total: $20–$80/month

At YPP eligibility (typically 8–14 months, 20–40K monthly views):

• AdSense (at $8 RPM for a finance/legal channel): $160–$320/month

• Affiliate income: $100–$300/month

• Total: $260–$620/month

At 12–18 months post-YPP (50–80K monthly views):

• AdSense: $400–$640/month

• Affiliate income: $300–$600/month

• Sponsorships (beginning to attract): $500–$1,500/month

• Total: $1,200–$2,740/month

These are conservative projections for a well-executed channel in a premium CPM niche. Channels in lower-CPM niches earn significantly less per view; channels that grow faster than projected earn more sooner.

The First 30-Day Plan, Week by Week

Week 1: Setup and First Video

Days 1–2: Niche validation and channel setup:

• Complete the 4-question niche selection framework

• Create the YouTube channel (channel name, description, channel art)

• Create the Clippie AI account and complete voice selection or cloning

• Build the 30-topic content calendar

• Apply to 3–5 affiliate programmes in the niche

Days 3–4: First video production:

• Select the channel's strongest topic from the content calendar, the one with the most search demand and the clearest content gap

• Research, script, produce in Clippie AI, and prepare for publishing

• Create the thumbnail using Canva

Day 5: Publish first video:

• Upload to YouTube with optimised title, description, and tags

• Post on any relevant social channels to seed initial views

• Note: the first video will likely perform below eventual channel average, this is normal and expected

Days 6–7: Build on momentum:

• Begin researching and scripting the second video

• Review the first video's performance data (not obsessively, early data is noisy)

Week 2: Establishing the Rhythm

Produce and publish 2 videos this week.

The production rhythm is more important than any individual video's performance. Consistent publishing trains the YouTube algorithm to expect content from this channel and builds the watch time data that improves search ranking.

Focus on:

• Refining the hook writing based on how the first video's thumbnail and title performed (click-through rate in YouTube Studio's analytics)

• Maintaining consistent visual style across both new videos using the prompt library

• Improving the CTA based on what the first video's subscriber conversion looked like

Week 3: Doubling Down on What Worked

Produce and publish 2 videos this week.

By week 3, there is enough data to identify:

• Which topics generated the most impressions (YouTube's algorithm served them more)

• Which hooks generated the highest click-through rate

• Which section structures retained viewers longest (watch the audience retention graph in YouTube Studio)

Use these insights to refine the next 2 videos:

• If a specific hook style outperformed others, use that pattern again

• If a specific topic type generated more impressions, produce a closely related video

• If a specific video length retained viewers better, adjust the script length standard

Week 4: First Month Review and Month 2 Planning

Produce and publish 2 videos this week.

At the end of month 1 (8 videos published), conduct a structured review:

Metrics to check:

• Total monthly views across all videos

• Average view duration across all videos (the audience retention graph reveals which video sections viewers are skipping)

• Subscriber count

• Click-through rate on impressions (under 2% suggests thumbnail/title improvement needed; above 5% is strong)

Planning for month 2:

• Update the content calendar based on which topics performed best

• Identify the 5 best-performing topics and produce 2–3 follow-up or expanded videos on each theme

• If the average view duration is below 40%, prioritise hook and opening-section improvements in month 2 scripts

Clippie AI Plans, Matched to the 30-Day Plan

Lite: $19.99/month

• 30 mins video export (~3–5 videos/month)

• 30 mins AI voice generation

• 30 mins speech-to-subtitles

• 100 AI images

• 1 custom voice

• Captions in 102+ languages

• 50+ AI voices

• 24/7 support

Best for: Week 1 testing before committing to the full production schedule

Creator: $34.99/month

• 120 mins video export (~8–12 videos/month)

• 120 mins AI voice generation

• 120 mins speech-to-subtitles

• 500 AI images

• 10 custom voices

• Captions in 102+ languages

• 50+ AI voices

• 24/7 support

Best for: The 2-videos-per-week production schedule from week 1 onward, the recommended plan for the 30-day plan and beyond

Pro: $69.99/month

• 250 mins video export (~15–25 videos/month)

• 250 mins AI voice generation

• 250 mins speech-to-subtitles

• 1,000 AI images

• 30 custom voices

• Captions in 102+ languages

• 50+ AI voices

• 24/7 support

Best for: Scaling to 3+ videos per week or running multiple faceless channels simultaneously

No free tier is available on Clippie AI.

💡 For the complete comparison of AI tools for faceless YouTube channels including every major platform in the category, read our guide on the best AI tools to start a faceless YouTube channel in 2026

💡 For the niche selection guide covering the highest-performing faceless content niches across both YouTube and TikTok, read our guide on top TikTok niches that will explode in 2026

💡 Start building your faceless YouTube channel with Clippie AI today →

Conclusion: The System Is Simpler Than It Looks, The Discipline Is What Matters

Starting a faceless YouTube channel in 2026 is not technically complicated. The niche selection framework, the content calendar, the 60-minute Clippie AI production session, the YouTube publishing checklist, none of these steps require skills that a motivated beginner cannot develop in the first week.

What determines whether a faceless channel succeeds is not the first video. It is the eighth video, the sixteenth video, the thirty-second video. The channels that build meaningful AdSense income are the ones that published consistently for 12–18 months without stopping when early performance was disappointing.

Month 1 is not about income. It is about building the production habit, learning what performs in the niche, and accumulating the first catalogue of videos that will compound over the next two years.

The infrastructure is ready. Clippie AI handles the production. The niche is waiting. The only missing element is the decision to start and the commitment to keep going.

Start your faceless YouTube channel with Clippie AI today →

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How long does it take to start making money from a faceless YouTube channel?

The YouTube Partner Programme requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours before AdSense income activates. For a channel in a high-CPM niche posting twice per week consistently, this threshold is typically reached between 8–14 months from launch. Pre-monetisation affiliate income can start from the first video, description affiliate links generate commission from day one regardless of subscriber count. Realistic combined income (AdSense + affiliates) at YPP eligibility ranges from $260–$620/month for a quality channel in a premium niche. The most important variable affecting timeline is posting consistency, channels that publish twice per week every week reach YPP significantly faster than those that post sporadically.

Q2: Do I need any technical skills or video editing experience to start a faceless YouTube channel?

No. Clippie AI's integrated production platform handles the entire technical production pipeline, AI voiceover generation, AI footage and image creation, auto-captioning, and export, within a sequential interface that requires no video editing knowledge. The creator's role is writing the research-backed script (with AI assistance from ChatGPT), selecting and reviewing the generated outputs for quality, writing the YouTube metadata (title, description, tags), and creating the thumbnail in Canva. None of these steps require technical skills beyond basic computer literacy. Most creators produce their first complete video within 2–3 hours of creating a Clippie AI account, including the learning curve of their first session.

Q3: Which niche is best for a beginner starting a faceless YouTube channel in 2026?

The best niche for a beginner balances three factors: high CPM potential, manageable sub-niche competition, and the creator's ability to research the content accurately. For most beginners, consumer rights and employment law basics is the best starting point, it has $12–$25 CPM, dramatically underserved competition on YouTube, mass-market search demand, and research that is accessible through publicly available legal resources and plain-language legal journalism. Tax strategy for self-employed workers is the highest-CPM option but requires slightly more research discipline. Estate planning is the most underserved high-CPM category with the lowest competition. Avoid broad entertainment niches (gaming, pop culture), the view counts required to generate meaningful income are not achievable for most new channels in these categories.

Q4: How many videos should I post per week on a faceless YouTube channel?

Two videos per week is the minimum for meaningful channel growth, this is the publishing frequency that provides YouTube's algorithm with sufficient data to build a reliable distribution model while compressing the timeline to YPP eligibility. One video per week is achievable and better than no channel, but extends the monetisation timeline significantly. With Clippie AI's 60-minute production workflow and the two-day research-script-produce schedule in this guide, producing twice weekly requires approximately 6–8 hours per week total across research, scripting, production, and publishing preparation, a sustainable commitment alongside other work.

Q5: Can I start a faceless YouTube channel in any niche or are some better than others?

Any niche is technically possible for a faceless channel format, but CPM and competition dynamics differ dramatically by category. Finance, legal, business, and science content generates $8–$30+ CPM and builds the most valuable long-term income asset. Entertainment niches (gaming, pop culture, comedy) generate $1–$5 CPM, requiring 5–10x the view counts to produce equivalent income. The faceless format works in any niche, the choice of which niche is a business decision that should be made based on the CPM and competition analysis in this guide, not solely on personal interest.

Q6: Which Clippie AI plan is right for starting a faceless YouTube channel as a beginner?

The Creator plan at $34.99/month is the recommended starting point for a beginner committed to the 2-videos-per-week production schedule. Its 120-minute export capacity handles 8–12 videos per month at 10–12 minutes each, the 10 custom voice clones allow setting up a proprietary channel narrator voice on day one, and both VEO3.1 and Seedance 2.0 footage generation are included within the plan. The 500 AI images cover visual production across all monthly videos with room for thumbnails and social media content. The Lite plan at $19.99/month is sufficient for the first week's testing while learning the workflow, most creators upgrade to Creator before the end of their first month once the production system is comfortable.