Google Adds Labels to AI-created Ads

Google has introduced a new AI disclosure system that tells people whether generative AI was used to create or edit an ad. According to the company’s announcement, anyone viewing ads on Google Search, YouTube, and Discover can now open My Ad Center and see a new section called "How this ad was made." The feature is available globally.  

How the Google's AI Ad Disclosure Works

Google says the disclosure process depends on how the ad creative was produced. If advertisers use Google's own generative AI advertising tools, the company automatically adds the AI disclosure to the ad's My Ad Center panel. Advertisers do not have to enable anything themselves. 

Google says this happens because content created with its AI tools already contains identifying signals generated by Google's systems. 

A Control for Third-Party AI Tools

The process is different for creatives made outside Google's advertising tools.

Google says it is introducing a control that allows advertisers to indicate when generative AI was used through third-party software.

That places responsibility on the advertiser to self-declare when an ad was produced with an external model or editor. For example, an advertiser that creates campaign images with another AI image generator or edits creative with an external AI tool can switch on the control so the My Ad Center panel reflects that AI contributed to the final ad. 

Where On-Ad Labels Appear

The My Ad Center panel always carries the disclosure once it is set, but a label can also surface directly on the ad. Google says that on-ad labels depend on local legal and regulatory requirements. They are not displayed globally by default. It can be triggered automatically for ads made with Google's tools or through an advertiser's manual control.

Building on Earlier Transparency Measures

The panel extends work Google has done to mark synthetic content. The company's generative AI tools already apply SynthID, an invisible watermark that identifies AI-generated content without changing how it appears to people.

Google also introduced policies in 2023 requiring advertisers to disclose synthetic or digitally altered content in election advertising. The new "How this ad was made" panel extends those transparency measures instead of replacing existing advertiser verification and advertising policies.  

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