AI ad performers now need a label in New York, California next

Two state laws now require a label on an advertisement that uses a synthetic performer, and they do not agree on what a synthetic performer is. New York's law, an amendment to General Business Law section 396-b, has been in force since June 9, 2026. California's, Senate Bill 1050 by State Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento), was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 16, 2026, and takes effect January 1, 2027.

For a creator or a brand making an AI video for an ad, that means a national campaign is already covered in New York and will be covered in California in under three months. Both statutes aim at the same deception, but they are built differently. California defines the synthetic performer more narrowly and turns the law on only when the performer is prominent. New York covers any synthetic performer in an ad, but only bites where the advertiser had actual knowledge of it.

What California's SB 1050 requires

SB 1050 was chaptered as Chapter 246 of the 2026 statutes, and it adds Article 10, commencing with Section 17610, to the Business and Professions Code. The operative rule is subdivision (b), and it reads: "It is unlawful for any person to create and cause to be published in an advertising medium an advertisement that prominently includes a synthetic performer without a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the advertisement includes a synthetic performer."

Subdivision (c) prescribes the wording. A disclosure must use language "substantially similar to 'this performance features a synthetic performer' or 'no human performer is depicted.'" Subdivision (a)(3) defines a "clear and conspicuous disclosure" as one "difficult to miss, easily understandable, and presented in a manner that a reasonable consumer would notice, read, and comprehend."

California's law has no knowledge requirement, so a brand cannot defend itself by saying it did not know. Reed Smith and Kilpatrick each make that point. A violation is a violation of Section 17500, the state's False Advertising Law, under subdivision (f), and may be enforced under the Unfair Competition Law, which begins at Section 17200. Skadden reads that structure as opening the door to private plaintiffs, and says the statute sets no penalty of its own but imports the remedies of those existing laws.

Subdivision (e) also reaches the advertising medium. Once a court finds that an ad violates the chapter and the medium is served with the order, the medium must remove, disable access to or stop spreading the ad in California as soon as it is commercially reasonable and technically feasible, and must stop accepting payment for further dissemination of it.

Newsom signed the bill at SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles headquarters, and the union sponsored it, according to the Governor's office.

What New York's law requires

New York went first. Governor Kathy Hochul signed S8420A / A8887B on December 11, 2025, and it amended General Business Law section 396-b. The bill text sets its start at "the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law," which is June 9, 2026.

Subdivision 3 applies to "any person engaged in the business of dealing in any property or service who for any commercial purpose produces or creates an advertisement." That person must "conspicuously disclose in such advertisement that a synthetic performer is in such advertisement, where such person has actual knowledge." The penalty is fixed in the same subdivision at "one thousand dollars for a first violation, and five thousand dollars for any subsequent violation." Meister Seelig & Schuster, a New York firm, says the penalty is enforceable by the state Attorney General and that the statute creates no private right of action.

New York prescribes no wording. Cooley notes that the statute does not define "conspicuous", which lets enforcement and market practice shape what a disclosure looks like.

Where the two laws line up and where they do not

The table follows Reed Smith's comparison and the two statutes. The clearest split is the definition. New York's "synthetic performer" is "a digitally created asset created, reproduced, or modified by computer, using generative artificial intelligence or a software algorithm" that is intended to give the impression of a human performance by someone who is not recognizable as an identifiable natural performer. California's is a "digital figure, voice, or representation created in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence" that creates the realistic impression of a human performance.

California's narrower definition is offset by its reach over voices, which brings audio-only ads inside the law. New York expressly leaves them out: subdivision 7 says the section does not apply to "audio advertisements." California's prominence test narrows it on the other side, since New York can cover a synthetic performer in a minor role.

What "prominently" means, and what both laws exempt

California defines "prominently" in subdivision (a)(5) with three tests. A synthetic performer is prominent if it is "in the foreground and demonstrating or illustrating the product or service," if it is "providing or voicing the on- or off-camera narration or commercial message," or if it is "illustrating or reacting to the on- or off-camera narration or commercial message." A brand that puts a synthetic extra deep in a crowd shot falls outside California's test, Kilpatrick notes, though not necessarily New York's.

Both laws exempt ads for expressive works. California's subdivision (d)(4) does not apply to advertisements or promotional material for motion pictures, television programs, streaming content, documentaries, video games or similar works, as long as the synthetic performer is used consistently with its use in the work. New York's subdivision 4 is nearly word for word the same, so a trailer that uses the same AI character as the film or game it is selling sits outside both laws. The remaining carve-outs split. Both laws step aside where the artificial intelligence is used solely for the language translation of a human performer. California's subdivision (d)(5) goes further and also covers other accessibility features, while New York's subdivision 7 additionally exempts audio advertisements and says nothing about accessibility.

What it means if you make AI video for ads

The advice the law firms give is to disclose early and to disclose once. Skadden suggests folding disclosure review into the production and legal sign-off for AI-generated talent or voices, and, because the two standards differ, using California's wording in every market, including audio, on the ground that it also satisfies New York. Reed Smith reaches the same conclusion for a single campaign that runs in both states, and flags that the European Union has its own AI transparency requirements, which add a further layer to a global rollout.

Neither law bans synthetic performers, and neither requires a disclosure for AI content in general. Meister Seelig notes that the obligation is triggered only when a covered synthetic performer appears in the ad, and Cooley says the same of New York: the duty attaches to the nature of the performer, not to whether the ad is deceptive.

The chaptered text of SB 1050 runs about three pages and is posted at the California Legislature, and New York's S8420A is posted at the state Senate; both are linked above.