Adam Mosseri: AI is a tailwind for authenticity

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said AI-generated content is a tailwind for authenticity on the platform, as the company adapts to a synthetic-content world. In a podcast interview, he discussed how Instagram's algorithm is only now catching up to what users assumed it knew, and outlined changes to product team structures including the rise of generalist 'product staff' roles.

Adam Mosseri is the Head of Instagram, where he oversees an app used by over 3 billion people. He also leads the team building Threads. Adam has run Instagram for longer than its founders did, after taking over from Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2018. A designer by training, he spent over 15 years at Meta, starting as a designer on Facebook’s mobile app, rising to lead Facebook’s News Feed, and eventually chosen to lead Instagram. During his tenure, Instagram’s user base has more than tripled. Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts In our in-depth conversation, we discuss: How the canonical product team structure is changing in 2026, from baker’s-dozen specialist teams to lean pods of four to six generalists The rise of the “product staff” role—a blending of PM, design, data science, and research into one generalist operator Why Adam is bullish on designers even as functional boundaries dissolve, and which roles are most at risk What the Instagram algorithm knows about you, and why it’s only now catching up to what people assumed it knew years ago Why the rise of AI-generated content is a tailwind for Instagram, and how the company is thinking about creator identity in a synthetic-content world The two biggest product failures of Adam’s career—Facebook Home and the first version of Reels Brought to you by: WorkOS —Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more Mercury —Radically different banking, now with Command Where to find Adam Mosseri: • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mosseri http://linkedin.com/in/mosseri • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mosseri https://www.instagram.com/mosseri Referenced: • What happens after coding is solved? | Fiona Fung Manager of the Claude Code and Cowork Teams : https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-the-most-ai-pilled-engineering https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-the-most-ai-pilled-engineering • Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code • Claude Cowork: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork • Head of Claude Code: What happens after coding is solved | Boris Cherny: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens • A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict Evans: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-rational-conversation-on-where https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-rational-conversation-on-where • OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter : https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai • Mythos: https://www.anthropic.com/claude/mythos https://www.anthropic.com/claude/mythos • Fable: https://www.anthropic.com/claude/fable https://www.anthropic.com/claude/fable • Pluralistic: The Reverse-Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI: https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble • Plastic Dream Sequence on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plasticdreamsequence https://www.instagram.com/plasticdreamsequence • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com https://www.tiktok.com • Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge Analytica data scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge Analytica data scandal • Facebook Home: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook Home Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ https://penname.co/ . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email email protected /cdn-cgi/l/email-protection fb8b949f989a888fbb979e959582899a9893928f889082d5989496 . Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.