TikTok's AI-Generated Content Label: When You Need It and How to Add It

If you use AI to make TikToks, there's a toggle you should know about. It's easy to miss, it takes one tap, and skipping it on the wrong video can cost you the video.

What TikTok requires

TikTok asks creators to label content that is realistic and generated or significantly edited by AI. The clearest cases:

• A realistic AI-generated person (including AI influencers and AI actors).
• A realistic AI voice that sounds like a real person.
• A realistic scene or event that didn't happen.
• Real footage altered to show something that didn't occur.

Less of a concern:

• Clearly stylised or animated AI art.
• AI used for captions, translation, background removal or minor enhancement.

When in doubt, label. It costs nothing.

How to add the label

When posting, open More options (or the settings for the post) and turn on the AI-generated content toggle before you publish. The label appears on the video for viewers.

Automatic labelling

In May 2024, TikTok began automatically labelling AI-generated content that carries Content Credentials, metadata defined by the C2PA standard that some AI tools attach to their output. That means content made in other apps can be labelled when uploaded, even if you didn't turn the toggle on.

What happens if you don't label

TikTok may add a label itself, remove the video, or limit its distribution. Repeated issues can affect your account. For a brand account, a "this is AI and they didn't say so" comment thread is its own kind of penalty.

AI influencers and AI UGC on TikTok

If your account features an AI persona, label the videos where that persona appears realistically, and say so in your bio. Instagram has gone further with a profile-level label (details here). For sponsorships, FTC rules on virtual influencers apply as well. Our overview: AI influencer disclosure rules.

Examples: label or not?

Real-world cases are where people get unsure. A rough guide:

When a case sits in between, label it. The cost is close to zero, and the downside of not labelling something TikTok considers realistic AI is much bigger.

How this fits with other platforms

Each platform handles AI disclosure differently, which matters if you cross-post:

• TikTok: creator toggle per post, plus automatic labels from Content Credentials.
• Instagram: "AI info" labels on posts, plus a profile-level "AI-generated profile" label for accounts featuring an entirely AI person. (Details.)
• YouTube: creators disclose realistic altered or synthetic content during upload.

If a video needs a label on one platform, assume it needs one everywhere you post it.

For brands using AI in ads

Paid content has extra rules. Advertising standards still apply to AI content (no misleading claims), and some ad categories, like political and social issue ads on Meta, require specific AI disclosures. AI actors shouldn't give personal testimonials they couldn't have had. More in do AI UGC ads work on Meta?

Build it into your workflow

The simplest way to never forget: make labelling part of production, not posting. Whoever generates a realistic AI asset marks it as such in your content calendar or file name, and whoever schedules it turns on the label. Two people, one habit, no surprises.

A simple habit

Add one line to your posting checklist: "Realistic AI person, voice or event? Turn on the label." If you use a scheduler, check whether it supports TikTok's AI label setting, and if not, label in the app.

Being upfront about AI is quickly becoming normal. The audiences that matter care much more about whether your content is good than whether a model helped make it.

FAQ

Do I need to label every video that used AI?

No. The concern is realistic content that could mislead people: realistic AI people, voices or events. Using AI for captions, minor edits or clearly stylised visuals is generally fine without a label, though labelling when unsure does no harm.

Does the AI label reduce views on TikTok?

TikTok hasn't said labelled content is penalised. Unlabelled realistic AI content, on the other hand, can be labelled by TikTok, removed or restricted.