YouTube Music and Deezer add controls for AI-generated music

YouTube Music and Deezer are introducing ways for listeners to identify or filter AI-generated music. Their approaches differ: YouTube plans to label some tracks, while Deezer says it will add an option to avoid them.

Google-owned YouTube Music says tracks “created primarily using generative AI” will be flagged in both the YouTube Music and YouTube apps. Labels will appear on the player page and include a pop-up with more information about how AI may have been used.

Deezer says it will introduce a toggle before the end of 2026 that lets users avoid AI-generated music. CEO Alexis Lanternier said users had clearly asked for a way to filter out such tracks. YouTube said listeners wanted transparency when hearing an AI-generated track.

Deezer says it has detected and removed more than 42 million AI-generated tracks from its recommendation system and tagged more than 14 million albums as machine-made. The company says up to 85% of AI streams are fraudulent. Its detector, named one of Time’s Best Inventions of 2026, helps identify 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks submitted to the service each day.

Deezer has acknowledged that its detector has limitations, including possible vulnerability to audio manipulation and unknown creation models. YouTube’s announced approach labels tracks rather than removing them from listeners’ experience.