Spotify is rolling out a new labelling system to help listeners tell real musicians apart from AI-generated ones. The streaming platform will begin adding “AI Persona” badges to artist profiles built around artificial identities, giving users clarity on who is actually behind a track.

The badges will start appearing from mid-September across artist profile banners, About sections, search results, and track rows within playlists.

Spotify said the move responds to growing listener concern over profiles that appear to represent real musicians but are actually built around AI-generated personas. Since August 11, artists have been able to voluntarily disclose through Spotify for Artists that their profile represents an AI persona. The platform will also independently review profiles using photorealistic AI-generated imagery, notifying flagged accounts and letting them self-disclose or appeal.

Listeners will be able to see whether a badge was self-applied or added following Spotify’s review. By default, AI Persona profiles will be excluded from editorial and algorithmic recommendations unless a listener already follows the artist, limiting organic discovery for such accounts.

Notably, Spotify clarified the badge applies to an artist’s public identity, not the production process behind songs. A human artist using generative AI tools while making music would not automatically receive an AI Persona label.

The update arrives as streaming platforms increasingly grapple with rising volumes of AI-generated music and synthetic artist identities, prompting questions around disclosure, discoverability, and how listeners distinguish human performers from fully artificial acts.