Instagram chief Adam Mosseri says “polished” AI content is “dead”, and creators must pivot to “real”

AI-powered tools and software have made it easier than ever to create professional photoshoot-quality content for Instagram, but “savvy” content creators will pivot to sharing less flattering content that feels more “real,” according to Instagram’s head.

Adam Mosseri published a post on Thursday (January 1, 2026), sharing his outlook on how AI would force both social media companies as well as social media content creators to change their creative strategies. This included trends such as users wanting to see more genuine albeit imperfect content on social media, even as camera companies promote the ability to capture flawlessly processed images and portraits.

“Unless you’re under 25 and use Instagram, you probably think of the app as a feed of square photos. The aesthetic is polished: lots of make up, skin smoothing, high contrast photography, beautiful landscapes. That feed is dead,” said Mr. Mosseri, adding that users had stopped sharing personal moments to the feed.

According to him, the primary mode of sharing was through “unpolished” photos and videos via Direct Messages (DMs). He also observed people would need to be more sceptical when viewing seemingly perfect content on Instagram, resulting in them focusing on the human creator rather than the content of their message.

“We are going to see a significant acceleration of a more raw aesthetic over the next few years. Savvy creators are going to lean into explicitly unproduced and unflattering images of themselves. In a world where everything can be perfected, imperfection becomes a signal. Rawness isn’t just aesthetic preference anymore—it’s proof. It’s defensive. A way of saying: this is real because it’s imperfect,” wrote Mr. Mosseri.

The Instagram chief highlighted that the platform would need to quickly evolve in response, by building creative tools and labelling AI-generated content more clearly. He said this needed to be achieved by working with manufacturers to verify authenticity at the point of capture.