Polished AI Content Is “Dead”; Creators Must Embrace Authenticity, Says Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri
20 percent of recommendations for new users are classified as AI slop, raising questions about content quality on the platform.. writes Santhosh Kumar
January 03, 2026: Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said that highly polished, AI-enhanced content is losing relevance, predicting a major shift toward more authentic and imperfect posts on the platform.
In a post shared on January 1, 2026, Mosseri explained how the rapid rise of AI-powered creative tools is reshaping both social media platforms and creator strategies. While technology has made it easier to produce studio-quality photos and videos, users are increasingly drawn to content that feels genuine, raw, and human.
“For years, Instagram was defined by polished square photos—perfect makeup, smooth skin, dramatic lighting, and curated lifestyles,” Mosseri said. “That version of the feed is dead.” He added that most users no longer share personal moments publicly and instead prefer sending unfiltered photos and videos through Direct Messages.
According to Mosseri, the overabundance of flawless, AI-enhanced visuals has made audiences more skeptical. As a result, viewers are paying greater attention to the person behind the content rather than the perfection of the content itself.
“We’re entering a phase where imperfection becomes a signal of truth,” he wrote. “In a world where anything can be perfected, rawness becomes proof. It’s a way of saying: this is real.”
Mosseri noted that successful creators in the coming years will deliberately lean into unpolished, unproduced, and even unflattering content to build trust and authenticity with their audiences.
He also acknowledged that Instagram must evolve quickly to keep pace with these changes. This includes improving creative tools, clearly labeling AI-generated content, and working with device manufacturers to verify authenticity at the moment content is captured.
The shift, Mosseri said, reflects a broader cultural move away from artificial perfection and toward real, human storytelling in the age of AI.
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