Instagram expects artificial intelligence generated images to surpass non-AI imagery on the platform, according to comments from its top executive outlining how AI is reshaping creator culture and content discovery heading into 2026.
Adam Mosseri shared the assessment in a detailed post discussing trends he believes will define Instagram over the next year. He wrote that tools capable of producing realistic images, videos, and voices are eroding the qualities that once differentiated creators, including authenticity and originality. Mosseri said Instagram feeds are increasingly filled with synthetic content created using AI systems.
He wrote that attributes which once made creators stand out, such as being real, relatable, and difficult to imitate, are now available to anyone with access to the right software. According to Mosseri, this shift is already visible across the platform, with AI-generated content becoming more common in user feeds.
Mosseri did not express alarm over the trend. He said there is “a lot of amazing AI content” and suggested that Instagram may need to change how it handles disclosure by focusing on verifying real media instead of trying to identify manipulated or synthetic images. He described an approach centered on fingerprinting authentic content rather than attempting to label all AI-generated material.
The comments align with challenges faced by Meta, which owns Instagram. Technologies designed to identify AI-generated content, including watermarks, have proven unreliable and easy to remove. Meta has acknowledged that it cannot consistently detect AI-generated or altered media across its platforms, despite spending tens of billions of dollars on AI development.
Mosseri suggested that responsibility for verifying authenticity could shift toward camera manufacturers, including smartphone makers, which could develop systems to confirm images at the point of capture. He said such systems could help distinguish real photos from AI-generated content, though he did not provide details on how this would function at scale or how it would be adopted across devices.
The comments did not directly address growing frustration among photographers and other creators who say their posts are no longer reliably shown to followers. Mosseri frequently responds to complaints about Instagram’s algorithm from users who feel their work receives less visibility than in the past.
Mosseri said those concerns reflect a misunderstanding of how Instagram has evolved. He wrote that the era of carefully composed square images dominating the feed has ended. According to him, camera companies are emphasizing an aesthetic that no longer matches how people engage with content on the platform.
He said more unfiltered and imperfect images may become a way for creators to signal authenticity in an environment where AI-generated visuals are common. Mosseri suggested that deliberately raw or unflattering photos and videos could help users demonstrate they are real rather than synthetic.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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