Google to label AI-created ads when disclosed by advertisers

Google is introducing a new feature that will label advertisements created using artificial intelligence. The disclosure, which appears when advertisers voluntarily report that generative tools were used to produce or edit an ad, is being implemented globally across Google Search, YouTube, and Google Discover.

Users can access this information through the “My Ad Center” panel, which is reached by clicking the three-dot menu or info icon on any ad. That panel already allows people to block or report ads and understand why a particular ad was shown. Now, it includes a section called “how this ad was made”, which surfaces any AI involvement in the ad’s creation.

The reasoning behind the move is clear. AI makes it inexpensive to generate highly realistic product imagery, which can mislead consumers into believing they are seeing an authentic photograph rather than a synthetic creation. Until now, Google only required AI disclosure on election-related ads. Extending this requirement to commercial advertising represents a significant expansion of the policy.

The honor-system catch

The effectiveness of the feature depends heavily on how an ad was produced. When advertisers use Google’s own generative AI ad tools, the label is applied automatically. However, when an ad is created using third-party tools, the advertiser must actively declare that AI was involved. Google has stated it will not independently verify these claims, meaning the label relies entirely on advertiser honesty.

This gap matters because the incentive to remain silent is real. An advertiser hoping a synthetic scene passes for a genuine photograph has little reason to volunteer otherwise, and Google is not checking. The system therefore depends on the good faith of those who might benefit most from deception.

Regulators are forcing the issue

The timing of this rollout is no coincidence. Google’s move anticipates tougher regulations, particularly the EU AI Act, whose transparency obligations for AI-generated content will begin to take effect in August. Industry groups are already resisting the mandatory version of these rules, with retailers lobbying to exempt AI-made ads from the EU requirements. A voluntary, self-declared label is a far lighter touch than what Brussels has in mind, and it forms part of a broader struggle over the AI Act’s scope.

Google’s approach is not consistent across its own products. On YouTube, the company will auto-label AI-generated videos whether or not creators disclose them, a stricter stance than the advertiser honesty it relies on here.

Transparency, up to a point

Despite its limitations, the feature is still a step forward in a market increasingly flooded with synthetic media. Even Google has branded some AI-generated content as spam. Giving users a place to ask how an ad was made is better than silence.

Whether the label changes behavior is another question, particularly in an ecosystem where deceptive advertising is already a lucrative problem. A label only helps if the people with the most to hide choose to apply it. For now, Google has built the disclosure and handed advertisers the switch. The honest ones will flip it, and the rest are exactly the reason such a label was needed.