Instagram’s New AI Rule: Undisclosed AI-Generated Profiles Could Lose Reach

Instagram is tightening its rules around AI-generated people on the platform, introducing a new label for profiles that feature an entirely AI-generated person. The platform said on August 31 that creators who fail to disclose such profiles could see their recommendation reach limited.

Instagram is renaming its existing “AI creator” label to “AI-generated profile” to make it clearer to users when they are interacting with a profile featuring an artificial person. The move follows complaints from users who discovered only later that profiles appearing to represent real people were entirely AI-generated.

How Instagram’s New AI Label Works

Creators can add the new label through their profile settings by selecting the AI-generated profile option. Instagram said the label will appear on the profile and next to its content when the individual post or media does not already carry an AI label.

Instagram will also notify accounts that it detects as featuring an AI-generated person without the required profile label. Creators can check their Account Status to determine whether the profile has become ineligible for recommendations.

Creators will have two options to restore recommendation eligibility, according to Instagram. They can add the AI-generated profile label or appeal the restriction if they believe Instagram made an error.

AI Tools Can Still Be Used Without Profile Label

Instagram said the new requirement does not apply simply because a creator uses AI during the content creation process. The profile-level disclosure is specifically meant for accounts where the person featured is AI-generated.

The platform's move is part of Meta’s broader effort to make AI-generated and AI-altered content easier for users to identify across Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Meta began expanding its AI labelling system in 2024 after its Oversight Board recommended that AI-altered content that could mislead users should be labelled rather than automatically removed.

The scale of AI labelling on Instagram has also grown significantly. Meta said that between October 1 and October 29, 2024, more than 330 million pieces of Instagram content carrying the AI Info label received at least one user label view. The company also reported more than 1 trillion AI Info label views during the period, highlighting the growing role of AI-generated content on the platform.