New York has ordered ads to label AI-made “synthetic performers,” and the rule now carries real penalties for noncompliance.
Quick Take
- Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law on December 11, 2025, and it takes effect June 9, 2026.[1][6]
- The rule requires a conspicuous disclosure when an ad uses a synthetic performer, but only when the advertiser has actual knowledge.[1][3][5]
- Violations can bring civil penalties of $1,000 for a first offense and $5,000 for later offenses.[1][4][5]
- Supporters say the law protects consumers and boosts AI transparency, while critics can point to unclear disclosure standards.[5][3][4]
What New York Changed
New York General Business Law section 396-b now requires advertisers to disclose when an ad includes a synthetic performer.[1][3] The law defines that term as a digitally created asset made or altered with generative artificial intelligence or software that creates the impression of a human performer who is not recognizable as any identifiable natural person.[1][5] The state framed the measure as a consumer-protection and transparency step.[5][6]
The rule is not a ban on artificial intelligence in advertising. It targets ads that use human-like digital figures and does not sweep in every AI-made image.[1][5] That narrow trigger matters, because it gives supporters a clean disclosure argument. They can say the public deserves to know when a commercial image is not a real person, especially when the ad is meant to sell trust as much as a product.[5][6]
What Advertisers Must Do
Advertisers and agencies that create or produce ads for commercial use must make the disclosure when they know a synthetic performer is present.[1][3][5] The law does not spell out the exact language, size, or placement of the disclosure in the summaries provided by the research.[3][4] That gap leaves room for uneven compliance, and it gives businesses a strong reason to complain that the rule is easier to announce than to carry out.[3][4][6]
Law-firm analyses say the statute reaches ads distributed in New York even when the advertiser is based elsewhere.[2][4] They also note exceptions for audio ads, translation-only uses, and some expressive works such as films or video games when the synthetic performer matches the underlying work.[1][4][7] Those carve-outs show that Albany did not write a blanket AI rule, but the law still reaches a wide range of commercial creative work.[4][5][7]
Why Supporters Call It Common Sense
Governor Hochul said the measure is meant to protect consumers and boost AI transparency in the film industry.[5][6] That message fits a basic conservative principle: the public should know when what it sees is real and when it is synthetic.[5] Supporters also have a practical point. If ads use fake people to create trust or polish, then a plain disclosure helps keep the market honest without outlawing the technology itself.[1][5][6]
🤖 Ads in New York must now label AI-generated 'synthetic performers' https://t.co/nvKcwLcEm8
📸 AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson pic.twitter.com/YdPqZkMpFU
— 1010 WINS on 92.3 FM (@1010WINS) June 9, 2026
Still, the record provided here does not show legislative findings, complaint data, or outside studies proving the size of the harm.[1][2][3][4][5] The available material is mostly official statements and law-firm summaries of the statute.[1][2][3][4][5][6] That means the policy case rests more on the logic of transparency than on a documented wave of abuse, and critics will likely use that gap to attack the law as overreach.[3][4][6]
Sources:
[1] Web – Ads in New York must now label AI-generated ‘synthetic performers’
[2] Web – New York Enacts ‘Synthetic Performer’ Disclosure Law for … – Cooley
[3] Web – New York Enacts Landmark AI & Right of Publicity Laws – Debevoise
[4] Web – Two Newly Enacted New York Laws Will Regulate Certain AI …
[5] Web – New York Synthetic Performer Law: What Advertisers Need to Know
[6] Web – Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Protect Consumers and Boost …
