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Labelling artificial intelligence in advertising: New Guidelines on Synthetically Generated Content
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) can now create a brand ambassador who does not exist, show a product that has not been built, or recreates a real person’s voice without them ever being present. The question for advertisers is no longer whether they can use AI, but when they must tell consumers that what they are seeing is not real.
On September 29, 2026, the Advertising Standards Council of India (“ASCI”), vide a press release, published the Guidelines for Responsible Labelling of Synthetically Generated Content in Advertising (“Guidelines”).[1] The Guidelines say that advertisements using AI must remain honest, decent, safe and fair. Their approach is risk-based: whether an advertisement needs an AI label depends on the nature of the communication and the risk of misleading consumers. Accordingly: (a) an AI label does not work for an advertisement that by itself is prohibited; (b) an AI label is mandatory where the use of AI can influence the consumer’s decision; and (c) no label is required where AI has no impact on such decision. The Guidelines come into effect 3 (three) months after publication, on December 29, 2026.
What is Synthetically Generated Content?
Under the Guidelines, Synthetically Generated Content (“SGC”) “means any audio, visual, or audio-visual content in an advertisement that is artificially or algorithmically originated, created, generated, modified, or materially altered using a computer resource, to appear real, authentic or true and depicts or portrays any individual or event in a manner that is likely to be understood, perceived or believed to be true or as indistinguishable from a natural person or a real-world event”.
SGC becomes a problem only when it creates expectations that cannot be met, exploits vulnerable people, shows unsafe situations, replicates a real person’s likeness without consent, or depicts false or misleading information. Such content would breach Chapter I of the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising Content in India (“ASCI Code”) on truthful and honest representation and also Chapter III of the ASCI Code on harmful situations.
How do brands decide whether a label is needed?
Whether an AI label is needed depends on the nature of the communication and on the risk of consumers being misled or harmed. Brands should ask the following 3 (three) questions:
- Is the SGC central to the advertisement’s messaging, or does it materially influence the decision to buy? For example, a shampoo advertisement whose whole pitch is an AI-generated model with dramatically fuller hair puts SGC at the centre of its message. However, a mere AI-generated sunset behind the model would not normally influence a consumer’s decision.
- Without a label, would the SGC mislead consumers about the product’s claims, performance or benefits? For example, an AI-generated video of a sunscreen keeping skin unmarked after a full day in harsh sun tells consumers how the product performs. If the footage was never filmed, viewers may treat it as proof.
- Would the lack of a label create a false or misleading impression about the product or service? For example, a smartphone advertisement uses an AI-generated ‘night shot’ to show off its camera feature. Without a label, consumers would ordinarily assume that the photo was taken with the phone.
The aim is to keep advertisements transparent without overloading consumers with labels.
What does this mean in practice?
Advertisements that are not allowed, even with a label
Advertisements that are illegal, infringe rights, make misleading claims or violate the ASCI Code are prohibited, even if they carry an AI label. This covers using AI to show that a real person has endorsed a product when they have not. It also covers using copyrighted work without permission, using deepfakes, or using a person’s likeness without their consent.
The Guidelines give 2 (two) illustrations. The first is a weight-loss advertisement showing an AI-generated transformation of a person from 100 (one hundred) kilogram to 70 (seventy) kilogram which does not reflect actual or proven results. The second is a travel agency advertisement showing a hotel in a non-existent location with facilities that do not exist.
Mandatory labelling required
A label is mandatory where the SGC can materially influence consumer decisions, and leaving the label out would reasonably mislead consumers. This includes the use of AI-generated influencers and ambassadors. It also includes personalised messages that copy a real person’s face or voice, even where that person has consented. Fabricated events or settings that may affect how consumers understand the product’s performance require a label too. So do advertisements that display products that do not yet exist, such as a 3 (three) dimensional model of an unbuilt housing complex, or advertisements that use sound effects tied to the product’s core features, such as audio quality in a headset advertisement.
Sponsored AI recommendations get special treatment. For example, if an AI chatbot is asked about a good moisturiser for Mumbai weather and recommends a brand because that brand has paid for it, the recommendation must specifically be labelled as ‘Sponsored by (Brand)’.
No labelling required
No label is needed where the SGC does not affect a consumer’s ability to make an informed choice. This covers routine edits such as colour correction, lighting tweaks and blemish removal that do not alter the substance or core claims of the advertisement. It also covers purely decorative backgrounds, ambient music and jingles, and obviously unreal effects, such as a fairy fixing a broken product with magic dust. Copy written or improved by AI in good faith needs no label, and neither do accessibility tools such as subtitles, closed captions and translations.
How should the label be shown?
Brands may use labels provided by advertising platforms, or their own labels such as ‘Audio/Video created using AI’ or ‘Audio/Video enhanced using AI’, which the Guidelines give as examples. Other wording is allowed if it accurately informs the consumer. Labels should follow ASCI’s disclaimer guidelines where those apply. Under those guidelines, a disclaimer must be:
- clear, prominent and legible;
- in the same language as the claim; and
- in sync with any voice-over.
A label by itself does not fix a misleading advertisement. SGC may still be treated as misleading or objectionable, whatever label it carries, if its overall effect is likely to mislead or harm consumers. ASCI’s disclaimer guidelines take the same approach: a disclaimer should not be used to correct a misleading claim.
Conclusion
The Guidelines focus on consumer outcomes rather than on regulating the technology. They place AI within the rules that already govern advertising and require the following: claims must be true, people must not be misrepresented, and consumers must not be misled. Every advertisement containing SGC must comply with the entire ASCI Code.
This affects how compliance works in practice. A label is the final step, not the first. An advertisement must first pass the existing tests of the ASCI Code, because no label can save one that fails them. Only then does the question of disclosure arise, and the Guidelines answer it by asking how the SGC affects the consumer’s decision. The principle laid down is that as AI-led advertising grows, consumers should know what they are being sold and when what they are seeing is not real.
This Prism has been prepared by:
Sajai Singh | Ayush Sahay
For more details, please contact km@jsalaw.com.
[1] The Guidelines were initially made available on the ASCI website on September 17, 2026, https://www.ascionline.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Guidelines-for-Responsible-Labelling-of-Synthetically-Generated-Content-in-Advertising.pdf.
The Guidelines were subsequently notified by ASCI by way of a press release dated September 29, 2026, which also sets out a condensed version of the Guidelines, available at https://www.ascionline.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Press-Release_Guidelines-for-Responsible-Labelling-of-Synthetically-Generated-Content-in-Advertising.pdf.
