The laws and regulator guidance behind AI marketing, sorted by the seven checks. Looking for what a platform allows? See the Platform Guide.
Sources last checked September 13, 2026. Rules change; the newsletter covers what moves.
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Copyright
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.
What this means for marketers
Disclosure of more than trivial AI-generated content is required on the application, and only the human contribution gets registered. Whether to register at all is a judgment call, worth considering for anything you might need to defend.
Watermarks
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.
What this means for marketers
Tools attach this by default, and Canva’s terms forbid stripping it. Worth considering: check a file at contentcredentials.org/verify before it ships, remembering metadata is one signal and platforms run their own detection too.
Disclosure
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.
What this means for marketers
Where the law applies (California, Utah, the EU), the disclosure is required, so put it in the bot’s first message. Beyond that, worth considering: the rules target bots that sell and persuade, which is what a marketing bot does, so teams often disclose everywhere rather than maintaining a map of who sees which bot.
Disclosure
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.
What this means for marketers
No blanket label rule exists in the US, so this is a judgment call: enforcement follows the impression an ad leaves. Worth considering a disclosure whenever a person in the ad never existed, or when AI is the reason it reads as real footage.
Platforms
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.
What this means for marketers
Where a platform requires the label (YouTube, TikTok, Meta), use its own toggle at upload. Worth considering doing it even when it is borderline: a label you apply yourself reads differently than one the platform adds later, and theirs cannot be removed.
Platforms
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.
What this means for marketers
Political and other sensitive categories carry required disclosures, so read the policy for the category you are buying in. Beyond the rule, worth considering whether the ad only works because viewers think it is real footage.
Claims
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.
What this means for marketers
Substantiation is the rule: you need evidence for performance claims before they run. A consideration, not a requirement: keeping one file per claim (what the model does, who tested it, when) is what makes that easy when someone asks.
Claims
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.
What this means for marketers
The rule is hard: no fake or AI-written reviews or testimonials, and insider connections must be disclosed. Using AI to summarize real reviews is a judgment call worth considering, as long as the summary stays accurate to what people said.
Copyright
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.
What this means for marketers
Ownership under a tool’s terms is settled by the terms; copyright is the open part. Worth considering before a logo or campaign identity: have a designer meaningfully change the output and keep the working files, because a tool license will not stop a copycat.
Consent
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.
What this means for marketers
Artificial and AI voices fall under the robocall consent rules, so confirm you hold that consent before dialing. Worth considering beyond the rule: voice penalties are counted per call, which makes a messy list expensive quickly.
Consent
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.
What this means for marketers
Consent does not transfer with a spreadsheet, and state privacy laws govern what you can do with it. Worth considering as practice: ask the seller where the list came from and what people agreed to, and skip the upload when nobody can answer.
Data
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?
What this means for marketers
What your contract and privacy notice allow is the rule; everything else is process. Worth considering: one approved tool, training off, and the decision written down, since the damage usually comes from a rushed paste into a personal account.
Watermarks
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.
What this means for marketers
Nothing requires you to announce a watermark, and California’s provenance law applies to the providers, not to you. Worth considering: assume what you generate carries an invisible mark, and decide your disclosure before a platform decides it for you.
Watermarks
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.
What this means for marketers
No rule here, only a limitation: credentials travel in the file and fall off easily. Worth considering keeping your own record of what was AI-made per campaign, since metadata proves little in either direction.
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