Pennsylvania's AI ad law requires disclosure on deceptive ads

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 806, the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, on October 22, 2026. The law, recorded as Act 99 of 2026 in the General Assembly's bill record, requires advertisers to disclose when AI-generated or significantly AI-modified images, video or audio create a false impression about what they are selling. It takes effect December 21, 2026, 60 days after signing.

The trigger is written narrowly. An advertiser may not disseminate an ad that uses synthetic content "in a manner that creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised" without "clear and conspicuous disclosure," according to the enacted text. The disclosure must state that the ad "contains content that was modified or generated using artificial intelligence." It must appear the first time the synthetic content is shown, in the same medium as the content, and, where technically feasible, be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove.

The law defines synthetic content as "information, including an image, video, audio clip or text, that has been significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence." That is wider than the synthetic-performer laws in New York and California, which cover digitally created people, Loeb & Loeb notes. It exempts content that is evidently fictional; parody, satire, commentary or criticism; and content limited to text.

Enforcement is public only. The attorney general and district attorneys may seek an injunction or bring a civil action, and a court may impose a civil fine of up to $3,000 plus actual attorney fees and court costs, the text says. There is no private right of action. A disclosure is not a defense: the law states that disclosing AI use "shall not be construed to limit any recourse under law."

The open question is what triggers a disclosure at all. Loeb & Loeb writes that the enacted text requires disclosure only when the content creates a false consumer perception, while the lead sponsor described a broader rule. On the Senate floor, Senator Nick Pisciottano said Pennsylvanians "deserve to know whether the ad they are hearing or viewing was created by a person or generated by AI." A co-sponsor framed the standard more narrowly, as aimed at AI content that makes a product "appear better than it is," and another senator objected that the bill "does not tell us false as compared to what," Loeb & Loeb reports. Neither chamber amended the language.

The result is an uncertain line. Loeb & Loeb's reading is that an AI spokesperson delivering accurate information may need no disclosure in Pennsylvania, while an AI-altered real person giving a fake endorsement, which New York and California do not reach, may. The firm's practical advice is to disclose when in doubt. Loeb & Loeb also notes that language limiting the law to advertisers acting "knowingly, recklessly or willfully" was struck on the Senate floor.

Pennsylvania follows two earlier laws. New York's synthetic-performer disclosure law took effect June 9, 2026, according to Governor Kathy Hochul's office, and requires a conspicuous disclosure where a person has actual knowledge. A first violation carries a $1,000 civil penalty and later ones $5,000, under General Business Law 396-b. California's AB 2602, which added Labor Code 927, took effect January 1, 2025 and governs digital replicas in performer contracts. Loeb & Loeb counts three states with three approaches and expects more to follow.

The bill passed the Senate 48-2 on June 10, 2026 and the House 163-40 on October 7, per the General Assembly's record. It was introduced by Pisciottano, a Democrat whose 45th District covers part of Allegheny County, WPXI reported. Shapiro called the signing "an important step in our effort to rein in this technology, but we need to do more," in remarks WPXI carried. Pisciottano said in a statement that the law "sets a commonsense transparency standard so Pennsylvanians can make informed decisions about what they are buying, while still allowing businesses to take advantage of this technology," City & State Pennsylvania reported.

For video and ad creators, the practical effect is a compliance step in one state's market rather than a ban. An ad that uses an AI-generated actor, an AI-altered product shot or a synthetic voice and could mislead a buyer about the product may need a label before it runs in Pennsylvania. No enforcement action has been filed under the law.

Pennsylvania's law takes effect December 21, 2026, and advertisers running AI-generated or AI-altered creative in the state have until then to decide which of their ads need a disclosure and to add one.