New York has officially positioned itself at the vanguard of artificial intelligence regulation within the commercial sector by enacting a landmark piece of legislation designed to introduce unprecedented transparency into the advertising industry. On December 11, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a groundbreaking mandate that fundamentally reshapes the ethical boundaries of marketing. The central tenet of this new law is the requirement for explicit and unambiguous disclosure whenever an advertisement utilizes AI-generated “synthetic performers.” This legislative action represents a pivotal moment for consumer rights and ethical marketing, establishing a new standard for how artificial intelligence can be responsibly integrated into public-facing content. While the law was formally enacted upon the governor’s signature, its specific compliance obligations are slated to take effect 180 days from that date, providing the advertising and technology industries with a critical six-month window to analyze, adapt, and implement the necessary changes to their creative and operational workflows. The overarching goal of this legislation is to directly confront the potential for deception inherent in advanced generative AI and to cultivate a new era of transparency in an advertising landscape increasingly populated by artificially created content. By compelling advertisers to clearly label AI-generated elements, New York’s government aims to empower consumers, affording them the necessary information to accurately distinguish between authentic human performers and digitally fabricated likenesses, thereby preserving public trust.
Unpacking the Legislation’s Core Mandates
The effectiveness of New York’s new AI advertising law hinges on its meticulously detailed provisions, which are designed to ensure both clarity and enforceability. At the heart of the legislation is the precise definition of a “synthetic performer.” The law defines this term as a digitally rendered asset created or significantly modified by a computer through generative artificial intelligence or comparable software algorithms, which is designed to convincingly create the impression of a human performer who is not recognizable as any specific, identifiable natural person. This careful and specific definition is instrumental in delineating the exact scope of the disclosure requirement, strategically targeting the sophisticated AI creations that can now replicate human appearance, voice, and mannerisms with a degree of realism that can easily mislead the public. Under this new legal mandate, any advertiser using such a synthetic performer must provide a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure to the audience. The intent behind this standard is to ensure that the notification is presented in a format and location that is easily noticeable, readable, and understandable to the average consumer, thereby preventing the use of fine print or fleeting on-screen text that could be easily overlooked. While the state is expected to release more detailed regulations concerning the exact formatting and placement of these disclosures, the legislative intent is unequivocally to guarantee immediate consumer recognition of AI-generated advertising content.
Furthermore, the law extends its protective measures to address the complex ethical issues surrounding digital resurrection, a topic of growing concern. It includes provisions that mandate obtaining consent before using digital renderings or replicas of deceased performers in commercial works, tackling long-standing concerns about posthumous intellectual property rights and the respectful treatment of an individual’s legacy. This proactive and legally binding framework distinguishes New York from other jurisdictions globally, many of which have relied on voluntary industry guidelines that lack the force of law. To ensure adherence, the state has attached tangible consequences for non-compliance, establishing a system of civil penalties. A first-time violation will incur a fine of $1,000, with subsequent offenses escalating to a more significant penalty of $5,000. These punitive measures underscore New York’s firm commitment to enforcement and serve as a powerful financial deterrent against deceptive advertising practices, signaling to the industry that transparency is no longer optional but a legal requirement. This comprehensive approach, combining precise definitions with clear enforcement mechanisms, aims to create a more honest and accountable advertising ecosystem for the digital age.
Ripple Effects Across Industries
The introduction of this law is poised to send significant ripples throughout the interconnected worlds of artificial intelligence, technology, and advertising, creating a new operational reality for a wide spectrum of companies, from established tech giants and major advertising agencies to agile AI startups. Organizations that have heavily invested in and rely upon generative AI for the creation of advertising content, especially those producing hyper-realistic digital humans, synthetic voiceovers, and other lifelike assets, will be compelled to undertake substantial operational adjustments. These changes will necessarily include conducting comprehensive audits of both existing and future creative materials to identify all instances that require disclosure under the new law. They will also need to develop and integrate new workflow protocols for content generation and approval processes and may even need to engineer internal software tools specifically designed to track, flag, and manage the use of synthetic elements in their campaigns. This represents a fundamental shift from a purely creative process to one that incorporates rigorous legal and ethical compliance checks at every stage of development and deployment.
From a competitive standpoint, the implications of the law are profound and multifaceted. Companies that choose to proactively embrace transparency, seamlessly integrating clear disclosure mechanisms into their advertising strategies, could cultivate a significant reputational advantage. By doing so, they can build and fortify consumer trust, which is an increasingly valuable commodity in the digital age where authenticity is highly prized. Conversely, businesses that are slow to adapt, or are perceived as attempting to circumvent the regulations, expose themselves to considerable brand damage, negative public perception, and the aforementioned financial penalties. This legislative pressure could also act as a catalyst for technological innovation, particularly in the field of “explainable AI” (XAI) within the advertising context, pushing developers to design AI systems that are not only powerful but can also transparently articulate their own creative and generative processes. Furthermore, the law may trigger a strategic divergence in marketing approaches. Some brands might decide to pivot back toward traditional, human-led campaigns to sidestep the disclosure requirements altogether, emphasizing authenticity as a key differentiator. Others may choose to lean into their use of AI, leveraging the mandatory disclosure as a mark of technological sophistication and innovation, framing it as a positive and forward-looking aspect of their brand identity.
Broader Context and Future Outlook
New York’s pioneering legislation is a significant and influential development within the broader global movement to establish comprehensive regulations for artificial intelligence. It reflects a growing societal and governmental consensus that as AI systems become more powerful and deeply integrated into daily life, a corresponding framework for transparency and accountability is essential. This law fits neatly into an emerging trend of governments worldwide actively grappling with the multifaceted ethical dilemmas posed by AI, which range from data privacy and algorithmic bias to the proliferation of deepfakes and the potential for widespread misinformation. The specific focus on “synthetic performers” directly addresses one of the most pressing contemporary concerns: the accelerating erosion of the boundary between reality and digital simulation, a problem significantly amplified by recent breakthroughs in generative adversarial networks (GANs) and large language models. The societal impact of this law extends beyond mere corporate compliance. It holds the potential to significantly elevate the general public’s literacy regarding artificial intelligence, encouraging individuals to adopt a more critical and discerning eye when consuming content across online platforms and traditional media. This heightened awareness is a crucial defense mechanism in an information ecosystem where AI-generated content can be weaponized for malicious purposes, including political propaganda and sophisticated financial fraud.
The enactment of this law did not represent a final destination but rather the starting signal for a new phase in the pursuit of AI transparency. In the immediate future, a flurry of activity is expected as businesses, legal professionals, and advertising agencies work to interpret the law’s nuances and develop robust, scalable compliance strategies. This will likely involve the collaborative creation of industry-wide best practices, the development of educational programs for marketers and content creators, and the emergence of new technological solutions designed to automate the detection and labeling of AI-generated content. It is highly probable that other U.S. states and nations will closely observe New York’s experience and use its legislative framework as a model for their own regulations, potentially leading to a patchwork of similar laws across different jurisdictions that will eventually necessitate harmonization. Looking further ahead, the long-term trajectory could see the scope of AI disclosure requirements expanding well beyond “synthetic performers.” Future legislation might encompass other forms of AI-assisted content, including AI-generated text, music, and even entire narratives for games or films. A significant ongoing challenge will be to develop and codify universally accepted standards for what constitutes a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure across the diverse and ever-evolving landscape of media formats, from linear video advertisements to interactive virtual and augmented reality experiences.
