Few of us are under the illusion that we own the content we post on Instagram, but we do have a say in how that content is presented: we can choose which photos and videos to share, which captions appear (or don't appear) on each post, and whether or not to credit where the image was taken or posted. We may not control the platform, but we do control the content of our posts unless those posts are found on search engines such as Google.
This was reported by 404 Media.Instagram appears to be experimenting with AI-generated SEO titles for users' posts—without those users' input or permission. Take this post for example: author Jeff VanderMeer uploaded a short video of bunnies eating a banana to his Instagram. The video was posted as is, with no caption, location tag or any other publicly available information. It's just a couple of rabbits biting.
However, Instagram has taken it upon itself to add a title to the post – at least when you stumbled upon it via Google. Instead of displaying a link with Jeff's Instagram handle and some metadata about the video, the Google post returns with the following title: “Meet the bunny who loves to eat bananas, a nutritious snack for…” (the rest of the title is cut off here).
Vandermeer was less than pleased with this discovery. He posted a screenshot of the title on Bluesky.writing: “now [Instagram] seems to generate headers [and] AI-powered headlines for what I post… to create [clickbait] For [Google] Damn it, I don’t like it.”
This wasn't the only AI-generated headline that VanderMeer got involved with. This post from the Groton Public Library in Massachusetts, where VanderMeer's novel is being promoted. Destruction how a book selected by the library in December was also clickbaited on Google. As with VanderMeer's post, the Groton Public Library did not include any text in its Instagram post—just an image showcasing the book. But if you see the post in Google search, you will see the following partial title: “Join Jeff VanderMeer on an exciting beach adventure with Mesta…”
Emanuel Mayberg of 404 Media says they have confirmed that Instagram is also generating headlines for other users on the platform, all without permission or knowledge. Meta did not respond to 404 Media's request for comment. (I've also reached out for comment.) On the other hand, Google returned 404 Media messages and confirmed that the headlines did not come from its AI generators –although it does use its own AI-generated deceptive headlines on Google Discover.. In fact, the company claims that its search engine simply pulls text from Instagram itself. Mayberg discovered that these titles appear under the title tags of Instagram posts when using Google Rich Results Testing Tool. Digging into the code, Mayberg also discovered artificial intelligence-generated descriptions for each post, which may ultimately be what Instagram uses to create captions.
Why does Instagram generate post titles using artificial intelligence?
I'll update this post if I hear back from Instagram regarding AI-generated captions. Until then, I can only speculate about their purpose (assuming Instagram is generating these headlines). And the most likely reason is to increase engagement: Instagram likely wants to increase the visibility of its users' posts in search, which means giving Google more information to work with. If the user doesn't provide their own image data, Instagram's AI appears to fill in the blanks, generate a description first, and then attach a “clickable” caption to it.
What are your thoughts so far?
However, the results are actually not that attractive. Just because Meta AI can generate headlines doesn't mean it's good at it or even that it should do it, especially if users didn't consent to the practice in the first place. It would be one thing if Instagram had a pre-post option—something like “Create a title for me using Meta AI that will show up in search engines for my post.” Most of us would give it up, but at least it would be a choice. However, it seems Instagram has decided that users like VanderMeer are incapable of writing a clever caption like “Meet the bunny who loves to eat bananas.”
The worst part is that the AI doesn't even describe the posts accurately. The Groton Public Library post was only about a book club meeting about VanderMeer's novel, but the headline reads, “Join Jeff VanderMeer,” as if he would appear. Instagram not only added the caption without VanderMeer's consent, but also spread misinformation about his whereabouts. And for what? Any additional interaction with Google?
If Instagram wants its posts to appear in search engine headlines, it should include the posters themselves in the conversation. As VanderMeer told 404 Media, “If I publish content, I want to be the one who contextualizes it, not some third party.”
