Ads in New York must now label AI-generated ‘synthetic performers’ :: WRAL.com
Ads in New York must now label AI-generated ‘synthetic performers’ :: WRAL.com
https://www.wral.com/news/ap/e4336-ads-in-new-york-must-now-label-ai-generated-synthetic-performers/
Publish Date: 2026-06-09 16:20:00
Source Domain: www.wral.com
Any advertisements in New York that feature artificial intelligence-generated people in place of actors will now be violating state law if they don’t clearly label that they have used a “synthetic performer.”
The law, signed in December by Gov. Kathy Hochul, went into effect Tuesday. Her office is calling it a “first-in-the-nation law” that will boost transparency at a time when it says AI generated performers are popping up across all forms of media, including on social platforms and in digital advertising.
Synthetic performers are defined under state law as “digitally-created media that appear as a real person.” The law applies to ads in any medium.
“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. The “simple, honest disclosure” required by the law “protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation,” she said.
Ads that don’t “conspicuously disclose” that they have used a synthetic performer will be subject to a penalty of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any further violations.
There are specific carve outs listed in the law to exempt ads for movies, television shows, streaming content, video games and other works that feature synthetic performers in the entire work. It also doesn’t apply to audio advertisements or ads where AI is solely used for language translation.
When the law was making its way through the state legislature last year, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and several other advertising organizations issued…
