Amazon AI image labels required for sellers after New York law

Amazon AI image labels are becoming a new compliance requirement for third-party sellers whose listing photos, videos or enhanced product graphics show photorealistic people created by artificial intelligence. The change affects a marketplace where outside merchants account for more than 60% of goods sold on Amazon, making the rule relevant for a large share of the company’s retail catalogue.

Amazon told sellers on Wednesday that they must add specific metadata keywords before uploading product images and “A+ content” that includes AI-generated people, according to an announcement viewed by CNBC. A+ content refers to richer listing material such as videos and graphics that sellers use to market products on item pages.

The company linked the policy to recently enacted legislation requiring disclosure when advertising images or videos contain realistic AI-generated people, CNBC reported. Amazon said it will place an indicator on product listings when applicable so shoppers know that images or other listing material include AI-generated people. The criteria Amazon will use to decide when the consumer-facing notice appears remain unclear.

What does Amazon require sellers to label?

Amazon’s seller notice requires labels for photos, videos and enhanced listing content that include AI-generated people, according to CNBC. The company said the requirement does not cover TV, film or video game characters, and it does not apply to content with real people even if artificial intelligence was used to alter them.

The rule is a disclosure mechanism rather than a ban. Sellers must tag relevant files with the required metadata before upload, giving Amazon a way to identify listings that may need an on-site notice for consumers.

Why did New York’s law prompt the change?

New York’s law, which took effect last month, requires companies to disclose when advertisements use “synthetic performers” instead of human actors. The law covers digitally created media that appears to show a real person, according to the governor’s office.

Gov. Kathy Hochul described the measure as the first such law in the United States, CNBC reported. Her office said AI-generated performers and manipulated media can make it harder for the public to tell fact from fiction when viewers are not told that content is artificial.

There is no federal law requiring companies to disclose when advertising content is generated by AI, CNBC reported. States have begun to set their own rules, including California, which this year started requiring large AI providers to embed watermarks in AI-generated images, video and other content.

How AI is being used in online listings

Amazon has added AI across parts of its retail operation, including tools that help sellers produce listing text and other content, CNBC reported. The company has also worked on listing titles and details intended to be more visible to AI systems, rebranded a shopping assistant as Alexa for Shopping and introduced a feature that can add AI-generated products into search in real time based on user queries.

More Amazon sellers are using AI to create text, images and other listing material, in part through tools offered by Amazon, according to CNBC. That adoption increases the operational importance of disclosure systems, especially for marketplaces where advertising-style product content is produced at high volume by independent merchants.

Other large platforms have also adopted labels for AI-generated material. Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and Google’s YouTube have added labels for AI-generated images and videos uploaded to their services, CNBC reported. TikTok and Meta have faced criticism over ads featuring AI-generated influencers promoting questionable products, including cases in which brands were not aware of the activity. TikTok has said it has moved to ban accounts making misleading health claims, while Meta has said it labels AI videos, CNBC reported.

Amazon did not immediately provide comment to CNBC.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.