AI Regulation Tracker / Action
New York's Synthetic Performer Ad-Disclosure Law Is Now in Force
As of June 9, 2026, New York requires anyone who makes a commercial advertisement to conspicuously disclose when an AI-created "synthetic performer" appears in it, where the maker has actual knowledge. The statute, General Business Law 396-b, was signed on December 11, 2025 and carries civil penalties. This is a binding rule, not guidance.
New York's synthetic performer advertising rule is no longer a bill waiting on a calendar. It is law that is already in effect. The disclosure duty in General Business Law section 396-b switched on June 9, 2026, which is the 180th day after Governor Hochul signed the measure on December 11, 2025. The effective-date clause in the bill is plain about the timing: "This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law." That day has now passed, so the obligation is live.
The mechanism is a disclosure. Section 396-b directs that a person who creates a commercial advertisement containing a synthetic performer "shall conspicuously disclose in such advertisement that a synthetic performer is in such advertisement, where such person has actual knowledge." Two pieces of that sentence do most of the work. The disclosure has to be conspicuous, meaning it cannot be buried where no one will see it. And the duty attaches where the advertiser has actual knowledge, which ties liability to what the maker actually knew about how the ad was built.
What counts as a synthetic performer
The law is narrow on purpose. A synthetic performer, as the statute frames it, is a digital asset created by generative AI or an algorithm to impersonate a human performer, and one that is not recognizable as any natural, identifiable person. That last part matters. If the digital figure in your ad is built to look like a specific real individual, you are in different legal territory. Section 396-b is aimed at the invented, no-real-person performer, the kind of AI-made face and voice that reads as human but is not anyone in particular.
This is also where advertisers most often get confused, so I want to draw a clean line. This disclosure statute is a separate thing from New York's deceased-performer digital replica amendment, which addressed the use of AI recreations of dead performers and took effect when it was signed on December 11, 2025. That measure and this one both touch AI and performance, but they are not the same law and they do not do the same job. Section 396-b is about disclosing invented synthetic performers in ads. Do not treat one as covering the other.
What is carved out
The disclosure duty does not reach everything. The statute writes in exceptions, and the exceptions are real limits, not fine print. Audio-only advertisements are excluded, so a radio spot or an audio-only placement does not trigger the on-ad disclosure requirement here. Dubbing and translation are excluded as well, which keeps the rule from sweeping in the routine work of adapting an ad into another language. And advertisements that promote expressive works are carved out, which is the kind of exception that keeps a disclosure mandate from colliding with protected expression.
Because those carve-outs exist, be careful not to over-read the statute. It is easy to assume a broad AI-in-ads disclosure law covers voice and audio, but section 396-b expressly does not apply to audio-only ads or to dubbing and translation. If you hear this described as a blanket rule for any AI in any advertisement, that description is wrong.
What this is, and what it is not
This is a binding statute with teeth. It creates a real duty and attaches civil penalties to failing it: 1,000 dollars for a first violation and 5,000 dollars for each violation after that. Those numbers are per violation, and for a large ad campaign that repeats across placements, the arithmetic can move quickly. This is not a study, a recommendation, or a voluntary framework. It is an enforceable obligation that is already running.
What it is not is a labeling rule for every ad that used an AI tool somewhere in production. The trigger is a synthetic performer, an AI-made stand-in for a human performer that is not a real identifiable person, present in the ad, with the advertiser having actual knowledge. An ad that used AI to color-correct footage or to draft a script does not fall in scope just because AI was involved. Read the definition before you decide the rule applies to you.
What this means for advertisers and finance teams
For anyone who buys or produces advertising that runs in New York, this is now a compliance line item. New York is a market almost every national brand touches, so a New York statute functions in practice as a floor the whole country's ad operations have to clear. If your creative pipeline uses generative AI to produce on-screen or in-image performers, you need a way to know when a synthetic performer is in the final cut and a standard, conspicuous way to disclose it.
The actual-knowledge element is worth planning around rather than hoping to hide behind. It ties the duty to what your team knew, which means the practical protection is a clear internal record of how each ad was made and who signed off on its AI content. Knowing which spots contain a synthetic performer, and documenting that, is the difference between a clean disclosure and an argument about what you knew after a penalty notice arrives.
For finance leaders and controllers who own marketing spend and vendor contracts, the point is exposure. Ask your agencies and production vendors to represent whether AI-generated synthetic performers appear in deliverables, and put the disclosure obligation into the workflow before assets go live. The penalties are modest per instance, but they scale with volume, and the reputational cost of running an undisclosed synthetic ad in a market that just made disclosure the law is its own line on the ledger.
What to do now
Treat June 9, 2026 as a live date, not a future one, because the duty is already in force. Inventory where generative AI produces human-looking performers in your advertising, and separate those from the AI uses that do not create a performer at all. For anything that does contain a synthetic performer, build a conspicuous, consistent disclosure into the ad itself. Keep a record of what your team knew about each ad's AI content, since the statute keys off actual knowledge. Do not assume the carve-outs cover you: audio-only ads, dubbing and translation, and expressive-work promos are out, but a standard video or image ad with an AI performer is in. And confirm scope against your own counsel, because the definition of a synthetic performer, not the presence of AI generally, is what decides whether section 396-b applies.
Questions professionals are asking
Is New York's synthetic performer disclosure rule actually in effect?
Yes. General Business Law section 396-b took effect on June 9, 2026, the 180th day after Governor Hochul signed Senate Bill S8420-A on December 11, 2025. It is a binding statute that is already enforceable, not a proposal or guidance.
What exactly does an advertiser have to do?
A person who creates a commercial advertisement that contains a synthetic performer must conspicuously disclose in that advertisement that a synthetic performer appears in it, where that person has actual knowledge. A synthetic performer is an AI or algorithm-generated digital asset made to impersonate a human performer that is not recognizable as any real, identifiable person.
Which ads are exempt?
The statute carves out audio-only advertisements, dubbing and translation, and advertisements that promote expressive works. So the disclosure duty does not reach an audio-only spot or the routine translation of an ad, and it is not a blanket rule covering every use of AI in advertising.
Is this the same as New York's law about AI recreations of dead performers?
No. That deceased-performer digital replica amendment is a separate measure that took effect when it was signed on December 11, 2025. Section 396-b is a distinct advertising disclosure statute about invented synthetic performers, with its own effective date of June 9, 2026. Do not treat one as covering the other.
What are the penalties, and does this reach advertisers outside New York?
Violations carry a civil penalty of 1,000 dollars for a first offense and 5,000 dollars for each subsequent one. Because the ads run in New York, national brands and agencies whose advertising reaches the New York market need to plan for the requirement even if they are based elsewhere. Confirm how it applies to you with your own counsel.
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Informational analysis for working professionals, not legal advice. Confirm how any statute or requirement applies to your situation with qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.