Bloomberg Talks: Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri at Bloomberg Screentime

Date: October 9, 2025
Host/Interviewer: Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg News
Guest: Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram at Meta

Episode Overview

This episode features Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram at Meta, interviewed live on stage at Bloomberg Screentime. The conversation centers around Instagram’s evolving role in the creator economy, the impact and challenges of generative AI for creators, competitive pressures (especially from TikTok and YouTube), Instagram’s recent product shifts (like the iPad app and TV ambitions), and Mosseri’s advice for creators in the current landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Creator Economy & Generative AI

• AI Changing the Creative Process:
  • Mosseri acknowledges that rapid advances in generative AI are transforming content creation, but stresses it won’t replace creativity.

    "Technology from the creator side is going to change who can be creative... But at the end of the day, creators have their taste, their processes, their judgments... They’re going to use those in different ways than before." (Adam Mosseri, 00:59)

  • He sees AI as democratizing creativity, making high-quality production possible for a broader group, but warns about increased risks of bad actors misusing these capabilities.
• Multiplying Content Production:
  • AI could reduce the cost of content creation to “essentially zero,” multiplying the volume of online content – both positive and negative.

    "What the Internet did... was allow almost anyone to become a publisher... generative AI models... are going to reduce the cost of producing content to basically zero." (Adam Mosseri, 02:25)

• Blurring Lines Between Human & AI Content:
  • Most content will likely be 'hybrid'—created by humans aided with AI tools—blurring lines between organic and synthetic.

    "That line is going to be more and more blurred... I think there's going to be actually more in the middle than pure synthetic content." (Adam Mosseri, 03:49)

2. Content Authenticity, Responsibility, and Labeling

• On Labeling AI-Generated Content:
  • Mosseri describes the challenges of labeling AI-assisted content, especially as AI becomes integrated into standard tools.

    "Trying to automatically label everything... is a little bit of... maybe the wrong focus." (Adam Mosseri, 05:49)

  • He suggests the priority should shift from labeling how content is made to providing more context about who is posting and why.

    "We're going to have to shift emphasis away from the content itself... put more on who's saying it and why they might be saying it." (Adam Mosseri, 07:29)

• Media Literacy & Context:
  • Platforms have responsibility for context—e.g., Instagram’s “About this profile” section discloses account creation date, country, name changes—to help users assess trustworthiness.

    "We can provide context, too, and we do today, but we can do more." (Adam Mosseri, 07:39)

3. Instagram’s Evolution: From Photos to DMs, Stories, and Reels

• Shift in User Behavior:
  • Instagram’s core activity has moved from static feeds to ephemeral and interactive formats (DMs, Stories, Reels).

    “All the growth in Instagram over the last five years or more has really come from DMs and Reels and recommendations and Stories.... That's just not how people use Instagram anymore.” (Adam Mosseri, 08:44)

  • Mosseri notes that posting to the main feed, especially for young users, is no longer primary.

    “If you’re younger than I am, posting to your feed is just not the primary way people express themselves.” (Adam Mosseri, 10:17)

• Product Experiments:
  • Instagram is testing opening directly into Reels on iPad and in India, reflecting the platform’s transition toward immersive, short-form video.

    “If a more immersive media is really driving all our growth... if we can figure out a way to transition the app to that being the experience... that would probably be a good thing.” (Adam Mosseri, 11:11)

4. Competition with TikTok and YouTube

• TikTok’s Influence:
  • Mosseri is candid about monitoring TikTok and YouTube, crediting TikTok with leading in short-form video, breaking new talent, and “exploration-based ranking.”

    “They are better than I think the rest of the industry... at breaking new talent... exploration-based ranking.” (Adam Mosseri, 13:39)

• YouTube's Strengths:
  • YouTube dominates on creator payouts and long-form content monetization.
• TikTok and US Regulation:
  • Discusses the complexities of the proposed US TikTok deal and government involvement, emphasizing that competition fuels Instagram to improve.

    “Competition is fundamentally healthy. They push us to do better work.” (Adam Mosseri, 15:24)

5. Expanding to TV

• TV as a Surface:
  • Instagram is exploring a TV app, acknowledging they may be late relative to YouTube and TikTok.

    “TV's an increasingly important surface... So we're definitely exploring it, but nothing to announce today.” (Adam Mosseri, 17:29)

  • Vertical content could work on TV with creative use of screen space for social context. The focus (for now) is on user-generated, not licensed premium, video.

    “I'd much rather be the second screen… focus on user generated content creators, AI and less on premium long form licensed content.” (Adam Mosseri, 19:48)

6. Advice for Aspiring Creators

• Be Intentional:
  • Mosseri’s main advice is to clearly articulate your goals and craft a content strategy that overlaps platform resonance with personal objectives.

    “Be intentional... Find a content strategy that is at the overlap of those two things. Because reach is great, but reach is a means to an end.” (Adam Mosseri, 21:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI and Creativity:

  “Technology... is going to change who can be creative... but at the end of the day... creators... have their taste, they have their processes, they have their judgments, they have their cultural commentary...”
  (Adam Mosseri, 00:59)

• On labeling AI content:

  “Trying to automatically label everything... is maybe the wrong focus.”
  (Adam Mosseri, 05:49)

• On Instagram’s changing use:

  “If we hadn't built DMs and Stories and Reels, you wouldn't be interviewing me on stage today. We wouldn't be relevant enough to show up at screentime.”
  (Adam Mosseri, 08:44)

• On TikTok’s strengths:

  “They are better than I think the rest of the industry at breaking new talent...”
  (Adam Mosseri, 13:39)

• On competition and TikTok’s US deal:

  “Competition is fundamentally healthy. They push us to do better work... I’m glad that they’re still going to be around.”
  (Adam Mosseri, 15:24)

• On being late to TV:

  “I see that as a mistake... we've been focusing a lot on ranking... the biggest risk that we face is... we don't change quick enough to adapt.”
  (Adam Mosseri, 18:01)

• On creator strategy:

  “Find a content strategy that does both. But that's the job, that's the work. And that's going to require persistence, intentionality, and experimentation. But I really preach the overlap.“
  (Adam Mosseri, 21:11)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:40-02:25 | Mosseri on AI’s impact on creators and creative process | | 02:25-03:25 | The multiplier effect: AI reducing friction for all content creators—good and bad | | 03:49-06:24 | Hybrid content, labeling AI vs. human content, challenges with self-reporting and detection | | 06:29-08:09 | Building user literacy; Instagram’s role in contextual trust and profile transparency | | 08:44-10:17 | Changing Instagram usage: shift from feed to DMs, Stories, and Reels; on-stage informal audience poll | | 10:39-12:24 | App product evolution: iPad/Reels, testing in India, vision for immersive formats | | 12:42-14:42 | Competition: Focus on TikTok’s industry-leading content discovery and YouTube’s payout advantage | | 15:14-17:18 | TikTok’s US deal; importance of competition; Instagram’s focus versus “noise of the week” | | 17:21-18:48 | Instagram TV app exploration, learning from delays, adapting to new user consumption patterns | | 19:13-20:52 | Addressing TV format challenges, user-generated vs. licensed content, and the second-screen philosophy | | 21:06-22:11 | One-sentence advice for creators: clarity, strategy, intention, and overlap with audience needs |

Final Takeaways

Adam Mosseri provided a candid, forward-looking view of Instagram's transformation in the face of AI and generational shifts. Listeners gained insight into the platform’s philosophical approach to tech, safety, competition, and the evolving nature of creativity. His advice to creators emphasizes the enduring importance of intentionality—even as technological barriers continue to blur.