This report was published by AI Forensics.
AI-generated content is flooding TikTok’s search results — and the platform is barely labeling it. Our comparative study across TikTok and Instagram in Spain, Germany, and Poland found that one in four top search results on TikTok contains synthetic AI imagery, with labeling failures widespread on both platforms.
TikTok’s search results are dominated by AI content. 25% of TikTok’s top search results contain synthetic AI imagery, compared to significantly lower rates on Instagram.
Agentic AI Accounts drive the problem. Over 80% of AI-generated content on TikTok originates from what we term Agentic AI Accounts (AAAs) — accounts that use generative AI tools to mass-produce content. On Instagram this figure is 15%, suggesting TikTok’s algorithm particularly favors this type of automated production.
Labeling failures are widespread. Only half of TikTok’s AI-generated content receives any labeling at all. On Instagram the figure is 23%, meaning the problem is severe on both platforms. Labels that do exist often lack visibility — particularly on Instagram’s desktop interface.
Most AI content is photorealistic. Over 80% of AI-generated content is photorealistic in style, maximizing its potential to deceive audiences who may not recognize it as synthetic.
Researchers manually annotated 30 top search results across 13 politically and culturally significant hashtags (#trump, #zelensky, #pope, #health, #history) on both TikTok and Instagram, in three European countries, comparing content type, AI generation status, and label presence.
This study introduced the concept of “Agentic AI Accounts” — a phenomenon we subsequently investigated in more detail in our December 2025 report. The DSA requires platforms to label AI-generated content; this research provides systematic evidence that TikTok falls substantially short of this obligation in practice.