Spotify will label AI artist profiles and exclude them from your recommendations.

      Spotify has announced that it will start adding an "AI Persona" badge to artist profiles that are generated by AI rather than by humans. Profiles with this badge will automatically be excluded from editorial and algorithmic recommendations, which is the crucial part of the policy.

      There are two types of labels available. Artists can label themselves as "AI Persona" starting Tuesday through the Spotify for Artists platform, using a new option in the profile and identity menu. Spotify will assign the "Likely AI Persona" label to profiles it determines to feature photorealistic AI-generated identities, by reviewing accounts based on their audience size.

      The company emphasized that it will not solely depend on self-disclosure and that human reviewers will work in conjunction with its detection tools. The badges will start being visible to listeners in mid-September, initially on mobile devices, and will appear in the profile banner, the About section, search results, and within playlists. A tool allowing listeners to report suspected unlabelled AI personas will be available in the coming months.

      Spotify clarified that the distinction it is making is more specific than what headlines suggest. "This badge pertains to the artist’s public identity, not the method of music creation," Spotify stated. The focus is on fabricated performers with synthetic appearances and believable backstories, rather than human songwriters utilizing generative tools in their work. Spotify aims to determine if a profile represents a real person, which is an easier task than confirming the origin of every individual track.

      The exclusion from recommendations does have an exception; if a listener actively engages with an AI persona, such as by following the artist, the music may still appear. What is removed is the passive discovery element, including editorial playlists and algorithm-driven feeds that are essential for music visibility on Spotify. Artists informed of a pending label can either self-disclose or appeal, and a badge assigned by Spotify can only be revoked following a review.

      Currently, there is no stated penalty beyond the badge and exclusion. This policy comes after a year when the issue of volume became evident. Deezer reported in July that over half of the tracks uploaded daily to its platform are AI-generated, which has increased to around 90,000 from 44% in April. Spotify had eliminated over 75 million spam tracks in the year leading up to September 2025 when it introduced an impersonation policy and supported a DDEX standard for disclosing AI usage in credits. At the launch of that standard, sixteen distributors and labels participated, with Universal and Warner expressing support without joining the initial group.

      The issue gained public attention due to The Velvet Sundown, a band that garnered a significant following before it could be confirmed that its members actually existed. In response, Spotify introduced a verified badge in April that AI-persona accounts were not eligible for. Now, the approach has shifted: instead of recognizing humans, Spotify will identify machines.

      Spotify has not disclosed the size of the review team, the anticipated number of profiles to be labeled, or the timeline for the listener-reporting tool's release. The initial badges are set to appear next month.