Amazon parcels are prepared for delivery at Amazon’s Robotic Fulfillment Centre.
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Amazon is requiring that third-party sellers label any product images or videos that contain “AI-generated people” after New York recently passed a law mandating greater transparency around “synthetic performers” in ads.
The company informed sellers Wednesday of the policy change, according to a copy of the announcement viewed by CNBC. The policy directs sellers to tag images and any “A+ content,” which refers to videos or other graphics on listing pages, with specific metadata keywords before they’re uploaded.
“Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people,” Amazon wrote in the announcement.
The New York law, which took effect last month, requires companies to disclose if “synthetic performers” are used in place of human actors in advertising. The legislation applies to “digitally-created media that appear as a real person.” Governor Kathy Hochul described it as a “first-in-the-nation” law.
“Without notice that the content the public is viewing is not real, AI-generated synthetic performers and manipulated media can undermine one’s ability to accurately distill fact from fiction,” Hochul’s office said in a release.
Amazon clarified in its announcement that the requirement doesn’t apply to content featuring TV, video game and movie characters, or content that includes real people, even if they’ve been altered using AI.
The company said it will “add an indicator” to listings on its website, informing consumers that images or other content feature AI-generated people, “where applicable.” It’s unclear what criteria Amazon will apply when deciding when to display the label to shoppers.
Amazon didn’t immediately provide a comment.
Amazon has embraced AI internally and it’s increasingly infusing the technology across its portfolio. The company has optimized listing titles and details so they’re more likely to be spotted by AI systems, invested in a recently rebranded assistant called Alexa for Shopping, and launched a feature that injects AI-generated products into its search bar in real time based on user queries.
More Amazon third-party sellers are using AI to generate text, images and other content for their listings, partly by using the company’s tools.
Outside sellers are the engine behind Amazon’s core retail business, accounting for more than 60% of goods sold on its marketplace.
There is no federal law requiring companies to disclose when advertising content has been created using AI.
States have taken steps to require greater transparency around AI content. Earlier this year, California began requiring large AI providers to embed watermarks in AI-generated images, video or other content.
Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and Google‘s YouTube have added AI-generated content labels to videos and images uploaded to their platforms. TikTok and Meta have recently been criticized for not adequately labeling ads that feature AI-generated influencers hawking dubious products, in some cases without a brand’s knowledge.
TikTok has said it’s taken steps to ban accounts that make misleading health claims, and Meta said it labels AI videos
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