How to Add an AI Label on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube: Step by Step (2026)

Instagram: step by step

A post or a reel

1. Create the post or reel as usual.
2. On the screen where you share it, tap the toggle next to Add AI label.
3. Share.

A story

1. Share a photo or video to your story.
2. Tap Options in the story, then Label AI.
3. Tap the toggle next to Add AI label.

Your profile (for an account whose face is an AI-generated person)

1. Go to your profile and tap Edit profile.
2. Tap the toggle next to AI-generated profile.

Instagram's help page says this feature is in the phone and tablet apps, not on computers.

Which posts need it? This is the part most guides get wrong. Meta requires a label on content with photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that was digitally generated or altered, including with AI. Its own examples: a realistic video of people walking around a market, an AI song with AI vocals, a reel narrated with a realistic AI voiceover. Meta says it does not require you to label images made or altered with AI, though an image can still be labelled automatically if Meta's systems detect AI signals in it.

So for an AI influencer on Instagram:

• Reels where she moves or talks: label every one. Realistic AI video and an AI voice are exactly what the rule describes.
• Photos and carousels: not required post by post. But turn on the AI-generated profile label once, and people see it on your profile and next to your posts that don't already carry a label. Our guide to that label explains what changed on 31 August 2026: Instagram says profiles that add it proactively won't see a change in reach, while unlabelled AI profiles can stop being recommended.

Meta's page also warns that there "may be penalties" if you don't label content as required.

TikTok: step by step

A video

1. Tap the Add post + button at the bottom.
2. Record, then tap Continue, or upload a video from your device.
3. Tap Next.
4. Tap More options ..., then turn on AI-generated content.

A photo post

1. Tap Add post + and capture or pick your photo.
2. Tap Post settings at the bottom.
3. Turn on AI-generated content.

Viewers then see "creator labeled as AI-generated". TikTok says turning the setting on "won't affect the distribution of your video" as long as the video follows the Community Guidelines.

Which posts need it? TikTok requires a label on all AI-generated content that contains realistic images, audio or video, and encourages it on anything completely generated or significantly edited by AI. Its examples include entirely AI-generated videos or images of real or fictional people, and AI-generated speech. An AI influencer with a realistic face is in that group, photos included. Label every post.

Three more things from TikTok's page:

• The auto label sticks. TikTok may add an "AI-generated" label itself, for example when a file carries Content Credentials (C2PA). Once it's on, you can't remove it.
• Don't label real footage as AI. TikTok says misleadingly putting the AI label on unaltered content breaks its Terms of Service.
• Some AI content isn't allowed even with a label: the likeness of anyone under 18, the likeness of a private adult without their permission, and public figures shown endorsing something. Unlabelled realistic AI can be removed.

YouTube: step by step

1. Go to YouTube Studio (on a computer or in the Studio mobile app).
2. Upload your video or Short and follow the steps.
3. In the Attributes section, under AI use, select Yes if the content meets the disclosure rules.
4. Fill in the other details and publish.

YouTube then adds a label in the expanded description. For photorealistic content or AI music, a label can also appear on the video player.

Which videos need it? YouTube requires disclosure of realistic AI content that makes a real person appear to say or do something they didn't, alters footage of a real event or place, generates a realistic scene that didn't happen, or creates music that is the main focus of the video. A photoreal AI influencer talking to camera in a café that doesn't exist is a realistic scene that didn't happen: select Yes. A clearly cartoon or anime character usually isn't.

YouTube says the disclosure alone "won't limit a video's audience or impact its eligibility to earn money". Creators who consistently don't disclose may get a label applied by YouTube, have content removed or be suspended from the Partner Program. As on TikTok, labels YouTube applies because of C2PA metadata can't be removed. More on earning with AI video in can you monetize AI-generated videos on YouTube.

What to label for an AI influencer, in one list

• Instagram: profile label on, once. Add AI label on every reel and every story video. Photos: optional per post (the profile label already covers them).
• TikTok: AI-generated content on every post, videos and photos.
• YouTube: AI use: Yes on every upload with a realistic person or scene.
• Paid or gifted posts: the AI label is not an ad label. A sponsored post also needs #ad or the platform's paid-partnership tool. Our free AI disclosure checker gives you both lines for your platform and deal type in a few clicks.
• In the EU: Article 50 of the AI Act adds its own transparency duties for AI-generated content from 2 August 2026; see do AI influencers need to disclose.

Common questions

Will the AI label hurt my views? All three platforms say no: Instagram for profiles that add the label proactively, TikTok "as long as it doesn't violate our Community Guidelines", YouTube for audience and earnings. What they do restrict is realistic AI left unlabelled.

I forgot the label. Can I add it after posting? On YouTube the AI use answer sits in the video's Attributes in YouTube Studio, and YouTube's page describes changing it there after upload. Instagram's and TikTok's help pages describe the switch only before posting; the safe fix there is to delete and repost with the label on.

Can I remove a label the app added? Not if it came from Content Credentials (C2PA) metadata: TikTok and YouTube both say those labels stay. YouTube lets you change an automatic label caused by its own detection in most cases.

Do I need to label an AI image on Instagram? Meta does not require it for images. It requires it for photorealistic video and realistic audio. If the account itself is an AI persona, the AI-generated profile label is the one to turn on.

Is #AI in the caption enough? TikTok accepts text, a hashtag sticker or context in the description as a disclosure, but also offers the built-in label; Instagram and YouTube ask for their own setting. Use the switch; a hashtag can go in too.

Are AI influencers allowed at all? Yes, on all three. What's banned is deceiving people. See are AI influencers allowed on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Make yours

Influgen gives each AI influencer a small team of AI agents: a scout for trends in her niche, a head writer for ideas, a creative director and stylist for the shots, and a critic that checks every picture before you see it. When it posts to TikTok it turns on the AI-generated content setting for every video, and sponsored posts get #ad. The Instagram AI-generated profile label is a switch you flip yourself in the app when you connect the account.

You can create your influencer now at no cost; when your spot opens you get a 7-day trial with 50 credits and one influencer, no card needed. See what each plan includes, or create your AI influencer.

Are AI Influencers Allowed on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube? What the Rules Say in 2026

Yes. No major platform bans an AI influencer account. What they ban is deceiving people: pretending a real person is behind the face, copying someone's likeness, faking engagement, or leaving realistic AI unlabelled. Here is what Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube each say, read on their own pages.