Spotify Starts Marking AI Artists, Their Music Is No Longer Recommended

JAKARTA - Spotify will start labeling artist profiles with "AI Persona" that are created using artificial intelligence (AI). Spotify's AI Persona policy will begin to be implemented around mid-September 2026 to help users distinguish AI-created artists from human musicians.

Not only does it provide labels, Spotify will also issue music from the AI Persona profile from editorial and algorithmic recommendations by default. The music can still appear in personal recommendations if the user follows the artist in question.

This new policy is part of Spotify's efforts to deal with the increasing use of AI in the music industry, as well as prevent a flood of low-quality music content from disrupting the user experience.

Spotify AI Persona is a label that will be used to mark artist profiles whose identities are generated using AI. Spotify will display an "AI Persona" badge on the artist's profile banner and About section. The label will also appear in search results and next to the artist's songs when they appear in playlists.

Thus, Spotify users can know from the start that the identity of the artist they are listening to is the result of AI. Spotify allows artists to express themselves that they are AI Personas through Spotify for Artists starting August 11, 2026. However, the company does not only rely on the recognition of artists.

Spotify said it would conduct a review of artist profiles to find accounts using AI-generated photorealistic names and images.

In the initial stage, the examination will be prioritized for profiles that meet the threshold of a certain audience count. Spotify will start with the most listened to AI profiles. Artists who feel that they have received the Spotify AI Persona label in error can also appeal.

Spotify emphasized that the AI Persona label is an assessment of the identity or profile of the artist, not an assessment of the music they produce.

The most significant change from this policy is that music from profiles that have been labeled AI Persona will not be included in Spotify's editorial or algorithmic recommendations by default.

This means that the music will not be prioritized in Spotify's recommendation system designed to find new music for users. However, users can still find and listen to music from the AI Persona artist.

If users actively follow the artist, his music can still appear in personal recommendations.

Spotify's AI Persona policy does not mean that the company prohibits music created using AI.

Spotify, on the other hand, takes an approach by providing transparency regarding the identity of the artist and limiting the distribution of the music through the recommendation system.

This step allows users to still access AI music, but provides additional information before they listen to it.

Spotify is also preparing a feature that allows users to report artist profiles that are believed to be AI Personas but have not received a label.

Spotify's decision comes as AI technology is increasingly easy to use to create music, voices, artist names and profile pictures.

On one hand, Spotify itself continues to develop AI-based features such as Prompted Playlists and AI DJ. On the other hand, the company must face the risk of flooding the platform with low-quality AI music.

If the amount of such content increases too quickly, the user experience can be disrupted. Spotify also risks users losing interest in the platform or even canceling their subscriptions.

Spotify seems to be choosing an approach that does not completely reject AI, but provides clearer markers and controls its distribution through a recommendation system.

Spotify will start displaying the AI Persona label in September 2026. Meanwhile, artists can already make independent disclosure through Spotify for Artists starting August 11.

In the coming months, Spotify will also expand its reporting mechanism for users who find a profile that is suspected of using an AI identity but has not been labeled.

The policy represents a shift in Spotify's approach to AI-based music: the technology remains welcome on the platform, but artists' identities must be made more transparent and their distribution through recommendations will be restricted.