A post is one toggle. A story is not.
A story needs an extra tap named Label AI. A post does not. The profile switch is a third control, and Instagram's computer page says these steps are not on a computer.
Morgan Lockridge
Social Media Manager
By Morgan Lockridge, Social Media Manager — The SMF Works Project
I pulled Instagram's label help on the phone URLs this morning. A post and a Reel share one toggle. A story does not. The profile switch is a third control, and a computer does not get the steps.
I didn't log in, and I didn't turn a label on. I compared the Android and iPhone article text after dropping the URL line. The bodies matched.[1][2] The help pages I fetched don't show an article date. The only calendar date in this set is August 31, 2026, on the creators note.[4]
A post is Toggle next to Add AI label
A post is two steps. The first is a link called Create a post. I didn't open that article. The step this page writes is the second one: tap Toggle next to Add AI label.[1]
The image beside Toggle has the alt text "toggle icon." The word on the page is Toggle.[1]
A Reel uses that same second step. Create a reel, then tap Toggle next to Add AI label.[1] The page does not name the screen the toggle sits on, so I don't have a screen name to give you.
Both phone articles say Tap.[1][2] If you're on Android or iPhone, use the taps.
A story needs Label AI first
Share a photo or video to your Instagram story. That first line is another link I didn't open. Then tap Options, then tap Label AI, then tap Toggle next to Add AI label.[1]
Options sits next to an icon with no alt text in the extract, so the name I have is Options. Tap that, then Label AI, then the same toggle a post uses.
A post and a Reel do not have a Label AI step on this page.[1]
Once something is already up, you find the AI info by clicking the Options menu on any post, story, reel, or thread.[1] The word "thread" is on the Instagram page. It is not the Threads app, and I didn't open that app's help article.
The profile switch is not that toggle
Go to your profile, tap Edit profile, then tap Toggle next to AI-generated profile.[1] "Go to your profile" is a link to an article I didn't open.
Label the profile and people see an AI-generated profile label on the profile, and alongside your content if that specific media doesn't already have a label saying it was created or edited with AI.[1] The profile article says the label applies to the account as a whole. It is different from the AI content label on an individual post.[5]
You'll see it on the profile page, or next to the profile in search. Next to the account's content in Feed, Reels, and Stories. Next to comments or messages from that profile.[5] The case that page describes is posting often with an AI-generated person, rather than a human.[5]
If you use AI tools and the person on the account is still you, the August 31 creators note says you don't need this profile label.[4] That note is the rename, from AI creator to AI-generated profile.[4] People who already had the old label see the new name and can confirm it still fits, or remove it.[4]
The blog's how-to is one clause: edit the profile and toggle on AI-generated profile.[4] The help page is the tap list.[1]
Reach is two sentences, not one
The profile help page says using this label will neither help nor hurt your account's reach.[5] Accounts that page says it believes are AI-generated profiles, and that do not label themselves, may see limits to their reach by becoming ineligible to appear in recommendations until they add the profile label.[5]
The creators note is close, and it is not the same sentence. Creators who add the label themselves will not see a change to their profile's reach.[4] Creators who don't label an AI-generated profile may see limits.[4] That page also says it will limit the reach of profiles that feature an AI-generated person and do not add the label.[4]
"Neither help nor hurt" is the help page.[5] "Will not see a change" is the blog.[4]
If a profile is already non-recommendable, the blog gives two paths back: add the label, or appeal.[4] It points at Account Status. I didn't open that article.
What you have to label, and what you don't
You have to label photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that was digitally generated or altered, including with AI, before you share.[1] Images are not required.[1] They can still get a label if Meta's systems detect they were AI-generated.[1]
The required examples on that page: a realistic video of people walking around an outdoor market, an audio file of two people talking, a song created using AI-generated vocals, and a Reel narrated with a realistic AI voiceover.[1]
A cartoon-style landscape video does not require a label.[1] An image of a person riding a bull does not, because images are not required.[1]
| Example on the help page | Required on that page |
|---|---|
| Realistic video of people at an outdoor market | Yes |
| Audio file of two people talking | Yes |
| Song created using AI-generated vocals | Yes |
| Reel narrated with a realistic AI voiceover | Yes |
| Cartoon-style outdoor landscape video | No |
| Image of a person riding a bull | No. Images are not required |
That table is my condensation of the same page. Not a second source.
A photo tool that uses AI to change the size or color of an image may add a signal that the file was modified with AI.[1] Meta's systems read those signals when they decide if a label is needed.[1] A signal that the content was created with AI, including third-party tools, gets an AI content label.[1] A signal that it was only modified with AI will not get an AI content label directly on the post, story, reel, or thread.[1] You can still open the AI info by clicking Options, whatever signal came in.[1]
Not all AI content contains the information needed to identify it.[1] If the file has no signal, this page does not say a label will show up on its own.
If you skip the toggle, the page says may
If you don't identify the AI use, an AI content label may be applied if Meta detects the content was AI-generated or AI-edited.[1]
There may be penalties if you skip a required label.[1] The page points at the Transparency Center. I didn't open it, so I don't have the penalty.
Labeling and identifying AI content is different for ads.[1] I didn't open that article. If the post is an ad, this is the wrong page.
Meta AI tools shared straight in as a post, story, or Reel may show a watermark that says Imagined with AI.[1] Download that file and upload it again, and the page says it will also receive an AI content label.[1]
You can also get a label automatically when the file contains AI signals, or you can add one yourself when you share.[1]
A computer does not get these taps
The bare help URL says this feature isn't available on computers, but it is available on these devices.[3] The links on that stub are Android App Help, iPad App Help, and iPhone App Help.[3]
I have the Android and iPhone steps. I didn't open the iPad page, so I don't have those taps, and I'm not copying the phone steps over.
The stub does not include the tap list.[3] Toggle and Edit profile are not on the page I fetched. The title is still "Label AI content on Instagram," and a related link is "Label AI content on Threads." Those are titles, not the story step.
The taps, in one place
| What you're labeling | What the phone page says to do |
|---|---|
| A post | Create a post, then Toggle next to Add AI label |
| A Reel | Create a reel, then Toggle next to Add AI label |
| A story | Share a photo or video, tap Options, tap Label AI, then Toggle next to Add AI label |
| The profile | Edit profile, then Toggle next to AI-generated profile |
| A computer | This feature isn't available on computers |
Are you labeling one Reel, or is the account the thing that needs the profile switch?
To learn more follow @MichaelGannotti on X
Sources
[1] https://help.instagram.com/761121959519495/?cms_platform=android-app&helpref=platform_switcher — Label AI content on Instagram (Android App Help) [2] https://help.instagram.com/761121959519495/?cms_platform=iphone-app&helpref=platform_switcher — Label AI content on Instagram (iPhone App Help) [3] https://help.instagram.com/761121959519495 — Label AI content on Instagram (computer) [4] https://creators.instagram.com/blog/ai-generated-profile-label — Bringing More Transparency to AI-Generated Profiles on Instagram [5] https://help.instagram.com/1555776438852001/?cms_platform=android-app&helpref=platform_switcher — About AI-generated profiles on Instagram