The Synthetic Performer Law provides carve-outs for audio-only ads, AI-assisted translation, and certain entertainment content with synthetic performers, but these exemptions require careful review and do not guarantee no disclosures elsewhere in a campaign.

The law also includes express exemptions for expressive works like ads for movies or shows and explicitly does not apply to audio ads or ads that use AI solely for language translation.

Governor Hochul frames the law as protecting consumers, supporting the local creative workforce, and positioning New York as a leader in responsible AI innovation.

Industry guidance urges advertisers to apply FTC disclosure principles with attention to placement, size, contrast, proximity, and duration to ensure disclosures are visible.

Agencies and vendors must establish clear internal rules because AI-generated figures can enter production before compliance review, meaning brands cannot rely on an outsourced defensible review record.

Compliance platforms like Luthor are designed to route synthetic performer risk to reviewers and tie evidence to campaigns, helping manage disclosure obligations.

The law targets ads where a viewer could reasonably believe a digitally created figure is a real person, including actors, customers, employees, experts, influencers, or spokespeople, and applies to campaigns targeting New York residents regardless of origin.

The overarching message is that AI-assisted creativity requires disciplined, regulated marketing workflows—similar to those used for claims, testimonials, and approvals—rather than being risk-free.

Effective compliance requires integrating disclosure into the creative intake process, verifying if assets contain generated or altered people, whether they’re meant to look real, and where the ad will run, while preserving disclosure evidence such as placement screenshots.

New York’s Synthetic Performer Law took effect June 9, 2026, with penalties starting at $1,000 for the first violation and rising to $5,000 for subsequent breaches to deter undisclosed AI-generated performers.

The law makes New York one of the first states to implement AI disclosure requirements for ads featuring synthetic performers.

Disclosures must be hard to miss, easy to understand, and included within the creative itself in plain language like “AI-generated synthetic performer,” and must remain visible across formats; metadata or alt text cannot substitute.