Snapchat announced that its recommendation algorithms will reward human-authored videos in its Spotlight feature and will no longer recommend “wholly AI-generated videos.” The move comes against the backdrop of the EU Commission’s recent AI transparency law and anxiety towards AI felt by Snapchat’s dominant demographic, Gen Z users.
Gen Z Anxiety About AI
According to a Gallup Poll published April 2026, 42% of Gen Z feel anxiety over AI. Although just over half of Gen Zers used AI at least once a week, negative sentiment on the level of anger is growing. This is important a significant percentage of the Gen Z population are Snapchat’s largest user base.
Article 50 AI Transparency Law
Although Snapchat did not mention the EU Commission’s AI transparency law, it’s probably not a coincidence that Snapchat’s announcement closely coincides with the date at which the new law has come into force. The new law requires platforms, systems, and publishers to disclose the use of AI, although there are four exemptions to adding AI disclosure labels on content.
Snapchat Stops Recommending AI-Generated Content
Snap announced on July 31, that fully AI-generated videos would no longer be eligible for recommendation on Spotlight.
The announcement explained:
“As of this month and going forward, wholly AI-generated videos will no longer be eligible for recommendation on Spotlight.
As low-quality, repetitive, AI-generated content becomes increasingly common across the internet, we want Spotlight to remain a place where people can discover authentic creativity from real people, because we believe there’s enduring value in rewarding original perspectives, personal storytelling, and the moments that people choose to create and share themselves.”
Snapchat Announced The Planned Change In April
A previous announcement in April announced Snap’s plan to reward authentic human-created content and this announcement is the fulfillment of those plans to begin de-ranking AI-generated content.
Reaction To Policy Change
Users on X (formerly Twitter) were generally supportive of the change while others used the announcement as an excuse to complain about Snap’s relentless advertising. It appeared that most of the commenters did not identify themselves as users or creators on Snap.
One commenter, who self-identified as not a Snap user, wondered about what wholly-generated AI content even is, advancing the idea that AI generated content is a collaborative effort, that AI does not generate content by itself. They asked if this move was against bots.
They tweeted:
“I’m not on your platform but I’m just wondering a few things(thinking out loud): Is the issue bots, or the use of AI. A design or video that is created via AI through human prompting and instruction, and even re-tweaked on many instances to get the design right is collaborative in nature and is not something AI just generated on its own.”
Another user predicted that anti-AI backlash is the future and asserted the importance of authentic human interaction:
“Anti-Ai will be the big business in the future. Btw, the reason why I use the social media is because I want to talk with real people. W-f Am I going to do with these Ai-generated content?”
Read Snap’s announcement: Rewarding Authentic Creativity on Spotlight
Featured Image by Shutterstock/kenary820
