Okay, so I know I’m not the only one who’s been seeing this come up all over the place lately, if you’ve been on Instagram and noticed a little “AI info” label popping up on posts from creators and small business owners who are absolutely, definitely NOT using AI to generate their content… you are not imagining things, there’s one tiny little tool that could be causing this (that you may not think is AI).
So what on earth is going on?
Creators and small business owners have been waking up to find that their perfectly normal, human-made Instagram posts are being slapped with an “AI info” label by Meta. These aren’t people using AI to generate graphics or write captions. We’re talking about people who used Canva’s Background Remover. A tool that has existed for years. A tool that is, by any reasonable measure, just… an editing tool.
Content creator Jess Bruno was one of the creators affected, and she actually went straight to Canva to get answers. The response from Canva was pretty clear: “This shouldn’t happen with tools like Background Remover or Magic Grab.” Canva confirmed that their metadata labels are only supposed to apply where AI creates entirely new content or makes significant modifications – not minor enhancements like removing a background. So there’s definitely a disconnect somewhere between what Canva intended and what Meta is picking up.
YourSocialTeam have also been across this and put it really well: the frustration is real, especially for artists and makers whose hand-crafted work is suddenly being lumped in with AI-generated content. That feels unfair, because it is.
Why is this happening?
Here’s the slightly annoying (but important) context: this is all tied to the EU AI Act, which now legally requires platforms to be transparent about AI use. Canva, as an AI system provider, has obligations around machine-readable markings – so they add metadata to content created or substantially edited with their generative AI features.
Where the problem lies is that the system isn’t perfect yet. Meta is reading metadata signals from tools and, in some cases, pulling in the label even when the tool used (like background remover) wasn’t supposed to trigger it. One creator put it best: “It’s a new law, so it’s messy AF.”
Will this tank your reach?
No, it shouldn’t. Meta has been clear that this label is about transparency, not punishment. There’s an important distinction here:
Labelled = a disclosure
Flagged = a warning
These are not the same thing. Your reach, your account standing, your algorithm performance – none of that should be affected by an AI label. The bit Meta can’t control is how individual people feel when they see that tag, which is a fair concern. But Meta is not downranking your content for it.
What should you actually do?
First: don’t panic, and please don’t start deleting posts or swearing off background remover forever. That’s not necessary.
If you’re worried about how your audience might perceive the label, here are a few practical things you can do:
Add a brief note to your content about the assistive tools you used (e.g. “made in Canva with background remover”)
Do a social post or story explaining your stance on AI – and save it to a highlight so people can always find it
Consider publishing an AI policy on your website so it’s there for anyone who wants to know where you stand
Send an email to your list (hi, that’s this!) so your community knows the context
But the main thing I’d recommend is to just keep posting. Your audience knows your content. They know your voice, your style, your work. A label doesn’t change that.
The creators I’ve been following on this are all saying the same thing: the platforms are still figuring this out. The vague language (“may have been created with AI”) tells you everything – even Meta isn’t fully sure what they’re doing yet, and the general prediction is that the labelling system will get cleaner and fairer as pressure mounts.
That’s your update for this week. As always, I’ll be keeping my eye on how this develops – because you know this isn’t going away any time soon.
Speak soon,
Shaquilla
Sources/credits: @thatjessbruno, @yoursocialteam
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