A new tag makes it clear when a TikTok creator uses AI-generated content, even from another platform.

TIK Tok announced on Thursday that it is automatically tagging AI-generated content — even if users went to outside companies like OpenAI, Google or Microsoft to get it.

Starting Thursday, TikTok will automatically put an “AI-generated” tag on AI images and videos from other tech companies, such as an image created with Adobe Firefly. All global TikTok users will see the change as it rolls out in the coming weeks.

Today's announcement that TikTok is joining our efforts to advance trust and transparency online with Content Credentials moves the authenticity ecosystem toward the ubiquity of trusted context embedded in content.

TikTok will start tagging AI-generated content with… pic.twitter.com/zAdqSVtrxr

— Content Authenticity Initiative (@ContentAuth) May 9, 2024

Business owners using TikTok to attract or grow an audience will now have viewers see “AI generated” if they post AI content. This can help them get in AI trends OR distinguish their brand.

The tag can also help viewers distinguish between fake AIs using someone's likeness or voice and real people.

TikTok's automatic “AI-generated” tags are notable because they mark the first time a social media platform will cross-reference AI content with other major tech companies using a universal standard. TikTok will use content credential technology from the Content Provenance and Authenticity Coalition, which Adobe and Microsoft co-founded.

Content credentials are metadata tags that sanitize AI content with an invisible watermark, which TikTok's systems can then detect.

TikTok is the first social media platform to support content credentials. It was one of the 20 technology companies that signed a pledge earlier this year to prevent AI-related election interference.

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The cross-platform tag bolsters TikTok's months-long effort to distinguish AI-generated work from human work. TikTok asked creators to self-tag AI content and began testing auto-tags from scratch September.

TikTokers using the platform's built-in AI tools already get the “AI generated” stamp on their videos.

TikTok faces a possible ban in the US, where it has until January 2025 to separate from its parent company ByteDance, or removing the face from the app stores. The platform has 170 million US users.

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