The generative AI revolution hasn’t been kind to Vanniall, an OnlyFans creator who lives in New York City. She now constantly finds hyperrealistic deepfakes—AI-generated images and videos that copy everything about her—circulating online and often isn’t able to get them removed.
On top of that, Vanniall struggles to build an audience on popular social media platforms, like Instagram, without getting in trouble. “There’s always some sort of report or appeal that I'm going through with them,” she tells WIRED. Vanniall’s Instagram account, which has over 100,000 followers, is currently restricted and cannot be viewed without logging in.
So, when I tell her that Meta allows its AI agent, called Muse, to engage in explicit sexting with adult users, she seems frustrated by the decision: “It's not fair that they get to pull money out of people with their sexually active AI agent, but they won't let real people, real adults, engage in any sort of sensuality or sexuality.”
It’s a common refrain I heard from other adult content creators, who questioned why their accounts on Meta platforms often seem restricted, while Meta’s AI agent is now allowed to talk dirty with millions of adult users.
“A private, one-to-one conversation between an adult and an individualized AI agent on a platform restricted to people 18 and over is very different from the marketing and promotion of services on a social media platform,” Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton tells WIRED.
Meta’s Muse is the first always-on AI agent to break out of early adopter circles in San Francisco. The Muse app is like a message thread; text the digital assistant, give it access to your personal data, like calendar and email, and have it proactively find ways to help, like canceling a workout class that overlaps with your dinner reservation. Meta’s large distribution network, through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, helped catapult the app to the top of the download charts during its first month, as millions of new users experimented with an agent for the first time.
In addition to having it organize your calendar, Meta says, it’s OK for users of the adults-only app to engage in X-rated AI conversations with Muse. A Meta spokesperson previously told WIRED the company wouldn’t “block legal adult behavior.” Meta’s Muse generates explicit text but not images or videos.
While Meta takes a different approach to moderation on Instagram, other social media platforms in the United States do allow sexually explicit content. X remains one of the most popular platforms for many OnlyFans creators to draw in new subscribers and connect with fans. Many adult performers have also migrated to Bluesky after Elon Musk took over the platform formerly known as Twitter, where users can also share adult content.
“I think we're already seeing AI being allowed to do more than humans would get away with,” says Jiz Lee, who runs an OnlyFans account and has worked for years behind the scenes in queer porn. Meta has previously flagged Lee’s Instagram posts for removal. Lee feels like queer and trans people are often treated unfairly by large social media companies, whether or not the person is an adult content creator.
Lee traces many online censorship issues back to FOSTA-SESTA, a law signed by President Trump in 2018 that impacted Section 230 protections for platforms, and many websites responded by censoring adult content. “If sex work was decriminalized, then a lot of these issues wouldn't be happening, a lot of the censorship wouldn't be happening,” they say.
Lee also wants to know more about how Muse was trained and who, if anyone, was compensated by Meta for their data. “We've been slow to react industry-wise,” they say. But Lee is starting to see more adult content companies clarify AI usage stances in official contracts. They want to protect performers from being gobbled up into AI training data.
“When we're at award shows, and companies do advertisements for AI agents, they literally get booed like crazy,” says Tony Genius, who also has an OnlyFans account and appears in adult films. He has concerns about fully AI-generated porn in the future potentially displacing human performers. He also sees current AI tools as helpful for some marketing tasks independent creators do, like using automations to clip video segments for social media.
For many OnlyFans creators, navigating Meta platforms is frustrating but critical to remaining visible online. Genius claims to be on his seventh Instagram account in the past five years.
When asked about Muse’s sexting ability, he questioned why Meta made one of its apps, Muse, gated for those 18 and over but doesn’t seem interested in creating another adults-only space on social media. “It could be: Instacam,” he says.
Muse generating adult content could offer explicit AI interactions to a wider audience. Genius says he would be open to collaborating with a tech company to create an AI-version of himself that fans could message. He wants to find ways for humans to keep making money as adult performers, ensuring they aren’t cut out or unfairly trained on. Right now, he sees his human-ness and authenticity as central to connecting with audiences.
Meanwhile, Vanniall is fervently against using any AI agent. Well, at least, Meta’s Muse. “Stop downloading that app,” she says. “You do not need to give Meta any more money or any more of your personal information. They have enough.”