Introducing a New Label for AI-Generated Artist Identities on Spotify

True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That’s more essential than ever in the age of generative AI. 

So this year, we’ve made Artist Identity and Trust one of our very top priorities with the launch of Verified by Spotify, SongDNA, AI Credits, and Artist Profile Protection. Today, we’re announcing another step in our effort to ensure Spotify is the most transparent and trustworthy place to listen to music. 

Listeners have been clear in telling us that they don't like seeing an artist profile that seems human, only to find out that the persona is AI-generated. That’s why, starting mid-September, you’ll begin to see an AI Persona badge on some artist profiles. The badge signals to listeners that an artist’s identity may be AI-generated and does not represent a real person. Alongside artist profiles that self-disclose as AI Personas, we will also start applying badges to relevant profiles. 

By default, Spotify will not include AI Personas in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations. That means you won't see any music from AI Personas in your personalized recommendations, unless you follow AI Personas, for example. While we believe all artists have creative choice in determining how they present themselves, Spotify's programming is focused on elevating music from authentic artists building careers in music.

How it works

Starting today, artists can share that their profile represents an AI Persona through Spotify for Artists. We hope artists will be transparent, so we are giving them the opportunity to disclose, but we won't rely on self-disclosure alone. 

Spotify will also review artist profiles and identify those whose public identity—the identity an artist presents on their profile, including name and imagery—appears to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities. We'll start with artists who have met defined audience thresholds, so the labels cover the vast majority of artist profiles that users visit. 

In mid-September, you’ll start to see the AI Persona badge appear on artist profiles (in the banner and About section), in Search, and on track rows across playlists. When listeners tap the badge, they'll be able to see whether the artist transparently shared that they're an AI Persona to build trust with potential listeners, or if Spotify had to review and make an informed determination. 

For artist profiles where Spotify's review team have applied the badge, artists will be notified and given the opportunity to self-disclose or appeal. In the coming months, we'll also give listeners the ability to report artist profiles they believe represent AI Personas to our review team. We’ll share more details when that’s available.

Although there's a broad spectrum in how artists use AI as a creative tool, the question of whether a profile represents an actual human is one where Spotify can help make a clear determination. This badge is about the artist’s public identity, not about how the music was made. For more information about how the music was made, we offer AI Credits and SongDNA. With AI credits, we have seen that people are eager to take the opportunity to be transparent and share how they used AI as part of their song’s creative process. We're hoping for a similar level of self disclosure for AI Personas. 

Building trust and transparency on Spotify

AI Persona badges are part of our broader efforts to make Spotify the most transparent and trustworthy place to listen to music. 

In 2026, we've introduced several other features designed to give listeners more transparency about what they're hearing and who's behind it. 

• Verified by Spotify signals to listeners an artist is a real human presenting themselves authentically on the platform. Hundreds of thousands of profiles are already verified, the majority of which are independent artists, representing more than 99% of the artists Spotify listeners actively search.
• AI Credits allow artists to disclose to listeners how they used AI in their music creation, with tens of thousands of AI credits submitted daily.
• SongDNA gives listeners deeper context on the artists and contributors behind a track, helping them discover and fall in love with the human creative process.
• Artist Details surfaces artist information based on Spotify’s own platform data, such as career milestones, release history, and touring activity, giving listeners a quick snapshot of an artist's authentic activity on Spotify.
• Artist Profile Protection lets artists review and approve releases delivered to Spotify to protect their artist identity and prevent listener confusion about misattributed music.

In addition to these features, we tune our algorithms to highlight authentic human artists and, based on available signals, strive to not  include spam, slop, or low-effort content in our recommendations. 

We know the music ecosystem is evolving, and so will our approach. We'll continue to adapt as the landscape changes and as we learn from artists, listeners, and industry partners.