Can you register an AI image with the Copyright Office?
Only the human part of it, and you have to say which part that is:
- The Copyright Office registers works containing AI-generated material only where a human contributed enough creative expression.
- Applicants must disclose AI-generated content that is more than trivial, and describe the human authorship.
- In its Zarya of the Dawn decision the Office registered the text and the arrangement, but not the AI-generated images themselves.
Primary source US Copyright Office: copyright and artificial intelligence (Registration guidance issued March 2023)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Does an AI image get metadata tagged automatically?
Usually yes, and you will not see it. It depends which tool made the file:
- ChatGPT: images carry C2PA Content Credentials plus an invisible SynthID watermark.
- Adobe Firefly: Content Credentials are attached automatically when 100% of the pixels came from Firefly.
- Canva: its terms forbid stripping provenance metadata from AI output, which tells you the tags are there.
- The tags travel in the file, so exports, screenshots, and some platforms can drop them.
Primary source OpenAI Help Center: provenance signals in OpenAI-generated content (Updated August 2026)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Do you need to disclose you're chatting with a bot?
Often yes, and it turns on where the person is and what the bot is doing:
- California: unlawful to use a bot to push a sale or sway a vote without saying it is a bot.
- Utah: disclose when someone asks, and upfront in some regulated situations.
- EU: the AI Act requires that people be told when they are interacting with an AI system.
Primary source California SB 1001 (B.O.T. Act), full text (Signed 2018, in force since July 2019)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Does an AI-generated ad need a label?
There is no single rule that says every AI ad carries a label. What gets you in trouble is leaving out something a customer would want to know, or passing off synthetic people as real. The FTC treats a misleading impression as deceptive advertising, and the EU AI Act adds its own transparency duties for AI-generated content.
Primary source FTC: endorsements, influencers, and reviews (Endorsement Guides revised 2023, living page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Which platforms make you label AI content?
The big three all have rules, and each writes its own definition:
- YouTube: disclose realistic altered or synthetic content. YouTube can add the label itself.
- TikTok: label realistic AI content. It also auto-labels some uploads it detects.
- Meta: labels AI images across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Primary source YouTube: disclosing altered or synthetic content (Living help page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can an ad get rejected for being AI-made?
Not for being AI-made on its own. Ads get rejected for what they show or claim, and ad platforms apply extra rules to synthetic content in sensitive categories. Google requires election ads to disclose synthetic content that shows people saying or doing things they did not.
Primary source Google Ads: misrepresentation policy (Living policy page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can we say our product is AI-powered?
Only if it is, and only as far as you can back up. The FTC expects evidence behind performance claims and has brought a run of cases against companies that overstated what their AI does. "AI-powered" on a page that does not use AI is a deceptive claim.
Primary source FTC: advertising and marketing business guidance (Living guidance hub)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can we use AI to write customer reviews?
No. The FTC rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews and testimonials, including ones that misrepresent a real customer experience. Reviews written by insiders have to disclose the connection.
Primary source FTC final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024, rule effective October 2024)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Do you own an image AI creates?
Two separate questions, and the answers differ:
- Copyright: in the US, protection needs human authorship. The Copyright Office says output from a prompt alone is not registrable, while human-authored parts of a work can be.
- Permission: what you may do with the file is set by the tool’s own terms, whether or not anyone holds a copyright in it.
Primary source US Copyright Office: copyright and artificial intelligence (Living agency page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Does an old opt-in cover an AI voice call?
Treat it as no until you check. The FCC has ruled that AI-generated voices in calls count as "artificial" under the robocall rules, which means the stricter consent requirements apply to those calls.
Primary source FCC declaratory ruling on AI-generated voices (PDF) (Declaratory ruling, February 2024)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can we load a purchased list into an AI outreach tool?
Permission does not transfer with a spreadsheet. Whoever collected those contacts got consent for their own messages, not yours, and US state privacy laws add their own rules on selling and sharing personal information. Check the source of the list before it touches the tool.
Primary source IAPP: US state privacy legislation tracker (Tracker, updated continuously)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can I paste customer data into ChatGPT?
Two things decide it, and you need both:
- Your contract with the AI vendor: does it cover this data, and does it keep it out of training?
- Your privacy notice: were the people it describes told their information could be used this way?
Primary source California Attorney General: CCPA (Living agency page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Can everyone tell this is AI?
Sometimes, and not always in ways you can see:
- Many tools attach Content Credentials, a signed record of how a file was made.
- Some platforms read that record and label the post for you, without asking.
- California has passed a law requiring large AI providers to include provenance data in what they generate.
Primary source Content Credentials (C2PA) (Living standard page)
Links checked September 13, 2026
Do AI marks survive a screenshot?
Often not. Credentials travel in the file, so a screenshot, a re-export, or a platform that strips metadata can drop them. That cuts both ways: your provenance can vanish from your own work, and a file with no credential is not proof a human made it.
Primary source Content Credentials: how it works (Living standard page)
Links checked September 13, 2026