Short answer: all three platforms require a disclosure when content uses AI to show realistic people, scenes, video or audio. TikTok requires a label on realistic AI-generated or significantly AI-edited content, Meta requires it for photorealistic video and realistic-sounding audio on Instagram, and YouTube requires it for realistic altered or synthetic content. For creator pages, disclosure is also about trust: fans should know what is real.
What each platform requires
As of 17 September 2026:
| Platform | When a label is required | Not required (examples) | If you don't | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | "Content that uses AI or includes significant edits to show realistic-looking people or scenes" | Not stated in the quoted text | Not stated in the quoted text | Guidelines, archived copy; TikTok Newsroom, 19 Sept 2023 |
| "Organic content with a photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that was digitally created or altered" | Not stated in the quoted text | Meta "may apply penalties" | Meta, updated 1 April 2025 | |
| YouTube | Making a real person appear to say or do something they didn't; altering footage of real events or places; generating a realistic scene that didn't occur | Non-realistic content, minor edits, beauty filters, color changes, AI help with scripts, titles or thumbnails | A label may be added for you; penalties can include content removal or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program | YouTube Help |
TikTok's newsroom post says creators can disclose with TikTok's label "or other types of disclosures, like a sticker or caption". Meta also said in 2024 it would label images using metadata from major AI tools (Axios, 6 February 2024), so a label can appear even if you did not add one.
What this means for creator pages
| Use of AI | Label? |
|---|---|
| AI-written caption or script | YouTube: not required. Others: not stated; check the app |
| Auto-captions, color correction, noise removal | Generally minor edits; YouTube lists similar edits as not requiring disclosure |
| AI-changed background or location that looks real | Label |
| AI voice that sounds like a real person | Label |
| Fully AI-generated person presented as real | Label, and see below |
AI personas
A fully AI-generated "creator" presented as a real human is deceptive, whatever the label settings. If an agency runs a virtual character, say so plainly on the profile and label the content. Never use AI to make a real person appear in content they did not make or agree to. Using someone's likeness without consent is a serious harm, not a growth tactic.
Building disclosure into the workflow
- Add an "AI used?" column to the approval record. See content approval.
- The compliance owner checks the label setting before a post is queued.
- Keep original files so you can show what was edited.
- Re-read the rules each quarter; each platform has updated them since 2023.
For the broader picture of what gets limited on each app, see suggestive-content restrictions and Instagram Account Status.
Labels and Farmero
Farmero applies per-post settings (who can view, comments, caption paragraphs) on the phone and reads them back, and refuses a setting it cannot apply. An AI label toggle is not among those settings, so for content that needs the platform's own label, post it by hand, or disclose in the caption where the platform accepts that. See posting.
FAQ
Do I need to label an AI-written caption?
YouTube says production help like scripts and titles does not need disclosure. TikTok and Meta focus on realistic video, images and audio.
What happens if I don't label realistic AI content?
Meta says it may apply penalties; YouTube may add a label and can remove content or suspend Partner Program access for creators who consistently don't disclose.
Can the platform label my post without me?
Yes. Meta said it would use metadata from major AI tools to label images, and YouTube may apply a label manually.
Is a beauty filter AI content?
YouTube lists beauty filters among edits that do not need disclosure. Check each app's own rules for anything more.