New York now requires disclosure of AI performers in ads. How will that change transparency in advertising?

It’s disclosure day.

And no, we’re not talking about the new Steven Spielberg movie out later this week. We’re talking about the new legislation in New York State, S.8420-A/A.8887-B, that went into effect Tuesday and requires advertisers to disclose the use of “synthetic performers,” aka performers viewers might think are real people, but are actually AI generated.

Signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul last December, the legislation is one of two “common sense laws” requiring transparency for AI use in advertising, Hochul said in a press release at the time. (The other protects the name, image, and likeness of the deceased from commercial use without consent from their “heirs or executors.”)

“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Governor Hochul said in a press release Tuesday. “Requiring simple, honest disclosure when an ad uses synthetic performers protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation.”

For marketers, this means that any advertising that runs in the State of New York using AI-generated performers will now require a notice disclosing that use. To be compliant, marketers will also need to disclose the use of AI-generated lead performers, background or extras, as well as use cases like an AI-generated hand model.

The bill doesn’t spell out what disclosure should look like or the language marketers need to use, but should ads run without the required disclosures, advertisers could be subject to fines to the tune of $1,000 for the first penalty and $5,000 for subsequent offenses.

Marketers see New York as a first mover when it comes to this kind of legislation and expect that other states may adopt similar policies down the line.

“We’re just trying to get out ahead of it…let’s follow the New York laws to a T, but ultimately, we have to start thinking about this across the board,” Tyler Smith, head of production for North America at VML, told us.

New York’s law may also be a pressure test for marketers when it comes to use of AI-generated performers in ads when it’s now legally required to disclose that use. The new law is also going into effect as audiences indicate some fatigue of AI-generated content, according to a Billion Dollar Boy study covered by Emarketer, which found that consumer enthusiasm for such content was just 26% in 2025, down from 60% who expressed enthusiasm in 2023.

Transparency is good, actually

The use of AI in advertising may be akin to the Wild West early days of influencer marketing, when ads and sponsorships were not always disclosed to viewers. Some uses of AI-generated performers are obvious—like some ads from Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, which were clearly AI-generated. But other ads have left audiences questioning whether or not something—or someone—is real or AI generated, which often gets hashed out in the comments section.

Johnny Rohrbach, co-founder and global head of partnerships at Silverside.AI, which worked with Coca-Cola on its last two AI-generated holiday ads, told us that “our stance is that transparency is always the best policy” when it comes to AI use in advertising.

“When we worked with Coca-Cola early on, one of the things that they made the decision to do before these regulations were in place was to ensure that they added a disclaimer,” he told us. That’s something Rohrbach says Silverside.AI has continued to suggest in its work with other clients.

“Consumers in this market demand transparency more than they ever have before,” Rohrbach said. “AI is very much a medium through which to tell stories, but I don’t think it makes sense from a business perspective to try and hide the fact that you were using it.”

The new law in New York means that disclosure should become a part of the process, even if it’s not mandated everywhere, said Andrew Foxwell, co-founder of the paid social advisory Foxwell Digital.

“It’s good practice for you to understand this as it relates [to the] New York [law], but also from a practical standpoint,” Foxwell said. “If you’re advertising—which you are going to keep doing—and you’re going to use AI models, you have to disclose it. Just put that in now. And the consumer wants to know too.”

Disclose yourself

How a marketer will disclose will likely vary, as the law doesn’t stipulate requirements other than noting that it has to be “conspicuously disclose[d].”

“How you label it is up to you, so you can kind of speak more in the brand voice,” Smith said. “If you were doing a comedy spot, my understanding is [if] you had to note something that was AI…you might be able to phrase it with just a little more lightheartedness.”

The new law could set a precedent for what disclosure will look like, and some marketers may wait and see what others do before making their own disclosure decisions. Some marketers may seek clarity on “what these disclosures need to look like or how much space they’re going to need on any particular platform or particular advertisement” before deciding what they’ll do, Tamon George, CEO and co-founder of the agency Creative Theory, said.

As marketers start to comply, it could also prompt a push toward more directness when it comes to AI use in advertising.

“There are fundamental decisions that brands need to make about what markets they want to operate with AI in versus where they don’t, but when you’re disclosing, more often than not, it’s going to do you a lot more positive than negative [to disclose],” Rohrbach said. “My hope is that this is a table-setter that increases transparency.”