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Amazon New York City recently passed a law requiring more transparency regarding “synthetic performers” in ads, requiring third-party sellers to label product images and videos that include “AI-generated people.”
The company notified sellers of the policy change on Wednesday, according to a copy of the announcement seen by CNBC. The policy instructs sellers to tag images and “A+ content,” which refers to videos and other graphics on listing pages, with specific metadata keywords before uploading.
“Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in ads include realistic people, such as in AI-generated photos,” Amazon said in a statement.
A New York state law that went into effect last month requires companies to disclose whether “synthetic performers” are used in place of human actors in their ads. The law applies to “digitally created media that appears to be of a real person.” Gov. Kathy Hochul called this legislation a “first in the nation.”
“AI-generated synthetic performers and manipulated media can undermine our ability to accurately extract fact from fiction, without the public realizing that the content they are viewing is not real,” Hochul’s office said in a release.
In its announcement, Amazon clarified that this requirement does not apply to content that features television, video game, or movie characters, or includes real-life people, even if modified using AI.
The company said that “where applicable,” it will “add an indicator to a list on its website” that lets consumers know when an image or other content features an AI-generated person. It’s unclear what criteria Amazon will apply when deciding when to display labels to shoppers.
Amazon had no immediate comment.
Amazon is embracing AI internally and increasingly infusing the technology across its portfolio. The company has optimized listing titles and details to be more easily discovered by AI systems, invested in its recently rebranded assistant Alexa for Shopping, and launched the ability to insert AI-generated products into the search bar in real-time based on user queries.
Amazon’s third-party sellers use AI to generate text, images, and other content for product listings, in part through the company’s tools.
Third-party sellers are the powerhouse behind Amazon’s core retail business, accounting for more than 60% of products sold on its marketplace.
There is no federal law that requires companies to disclose if advertising content is created using AI.
States are taking steps to require greater transparency regarding AI content. Earlier this year, California began requiring major AI providers to embed watermarks in images, videos, and other content generated by AI.
metaTikTok, pinterest and googleYouTube has added AI-generated content labels to videos and images uploaded to the platform. TikTok and Meta have recently been criticized for not properly labeling ads in which AI-generated influencers promote questionable products, sometimes without the knowledge of brands.
TikTok says it has taken steps to ban accounts that make misleading health claims, Meta says it is labeling AI videos
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