India’s advertising industry is moving towards greater transparency in the use of artificial intelligence. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced guidelines explaining when brands must disclose synthetically generated content, which AI-generated advertisements are prohibited, and how advertising agencies can prepare for the new requirements.
What Are ASCI’s AI Advertising Disclosure Rules?
The Advertising Standards Council of India has issued its Guidelines for Responsible Labelling of Synthetically Generated Content in Advertising to address the growing use of AI in marketing campaigns. The framework focuses on how synthetic content affects consumers rather than treating every use of artificial intelligence as a compliance risk.
Synthetically generated content, or SGC, broadly covers audio, visual and audiovisual material created, generated, modified or materially altered using computer resources to appear real or authentic. The concern is whether consumers could mistake such content for a genuine person, event, product demonstration or experience.
Under the guidelines, disclosure is required when AI-generated content materially influences consumer decisions and withholding that information could create a misleading impression.
The framework also distinguishes between content that requires a label, content that can be used without a label and content that remains prohibited regardless of disclosure. This distinction is important for brands that use AI throughout advertising production.
When Must Brands Disclose AI-Generated Advertising?
ASCI’s guidelines identify specific situations in which brands must disclose the use of synthetically generated content. The central question is whether consumers could misunderstand the advertisement if they were not told that the relevant content was artificially generated or altered.
One example is the use of virtual influencers or synthetic brand ambassadors. If a brand creates a realistic digital personality to promote a product, consumers should be able to recognise that the personality is not a real human being.
Disclosure is also required when a real person’s face or voice is digitally replicated, even with consent, for personalised advertising messages. Permission from the individual does not automatically tell the audience that the message was generated using AI.
Other examples include realistic AI-generated settings or events that influence how consumers understand a product, demonstrations of products that do not yet exist, and synthetic sound effects closely connected to a product’s core features.
For instance, an advertisement for headphones that uses AI-generated audio to demonstrate sound quality may require disclosure because the sound itself influences the consumer’s assessment of the product.
The guidelines also cover paid or sponsored AI-generated product recommendations, which must clearly identify the commercial relationship.
Three Categories of AI Advertising Compliance
ASCI’s framework separates synthetic advertising content into three broad categories. This helps brands assess the risks associated with each campaign rather than applying the same disclosure requirement to every AI tool.
1. Prohibited AI Advertising Content
Some advertisements remain unacceptable even if the advertiser adds an AI disclosure label. These include fabricated endorsements, misleading product demonstrations and unauthorised use of a person’s likeness or copyrighted material.
For example, a brand cannot use an AI-generated testimonial to falsely suggest that a real customer used and recommended its product. Similarly, a synthetic before-and-after image must not exaggerate results in a way that creates an unsupported impression of product performance.
An advertisement depicting a non-existent hotel or facility as a real location to attract customers can also mislead consumers.
The principle is straightforward: disclosure cannot make a deceptive claim acceptable. Advertisers must ensure that the underlying advertisement complies with ASCI’s advertising code.
2. AI Content Requiring Mandatory Disclosure
The second category includes content that may be used if the required transparency measures are followed. This includes synthetic influencers, certain realistic AI-generated product demonstrations, digitally replicated faces or voices used in personalised messaging, and relevant synthetic sound effects.
The requirement is particularly important when the artificial nature of the content could change a consumer’s understanding of the advertised product or service.
Paid or sponsored AI-generated product recommendations must specifically carry the label Sponsored by [Brand]. This helps distinguish a commercially influenced recommendation from an apparently independent suggestion.
3. AI Uses That Do Not Require Disclosure
ASCI does not require an AI label for every minor edit or administrative use of artificial intelligence.
Routine changes such as colour correction, lighting adjustments, noise reduction and minor blemish removal generally do not require disclosure when they do not materially affect consumer understanding.
Other exemptions include decorative or ambient elements, obvious fantastical effects that audiences recognise as unreal, and administrative or text-based applications such as generating advertising copy. Accessibility applications, including accurate subtitles, translations and audio descriptions, are also covered by the exemptions.
These distinctions allow businesses to use AI for routine production tasks without creating unnecessary labels that could distract consumers from meaningful disclosures.
How Should Brands Label AI-Generated Advertisements?
When disclosure is required, brands can use suitable labels provided by advertising platforms or their own clear wording. ASCI identifies examples such as Audio/Video created using AI and Audio/Video enhanced using AI.
The wording should accurately describe the nature of the synthetic content and help consumers understand what they are seeing or hearing.
A disclosure should not be treated as a minor legal detail added at the end of a campaign. Brands should plan its placement during the creative and production stages so that the information remains clear and understandable.
For example, if an advertisement features a synthetic brand ambassador, the disclosure should make the digital nature of that personality apparent to viewers. If a campaign uses a replicated voice for personalised promotional messages, the audience should be informed that the voice has been digitally generated or replicated.
Where applicable, disclosures must also follow ASCI’s existing disclaimer requirements. The precise execution may vary depending on the format and context of the advertisement, but the objective remains the same: consumers should not be misled about the content’s authenticity.
What Advertising Agencies Need to Change
Advertising agencies will need to review how AI is used across campaign development, creative production, influencer marketing and media distribution.
The first step is to identify where synthetic content appears in the advertising workflow. This includes visuals, video, audio, digital personalities, product demonstrations and sponsored recommendations.
Agencies should then assess whether each use falls into a prohibited category, requires disclosure or qualifies for an exemption. This review should involve creative teams, account managers, legal advisers and clients where appropriate.
Clear internal approval processes can reduce the risk of publishing content that creates a misleading impression. Agencies should also retain relevant records of AI-generated assets, permissions for likeness and voice replication, supporting evidence for product claims, and the decisions made about disclosure.
Brands and agencies should agree on who is responsible for reviewing content, approving labels and checking the final advertisement before publication.
The guidelines apply alongside the wider ASCI Code, which expects advertisements to be truthful and substantiated. Businesses cannot rely on a label to resolve problems with inaccurate claims or unauthorised material.
What Small Businesses and Regional Brands Should Know
The guidelines are relevant not only to large advertising agencies and national brands but also to smaller businesses that increasingly use AI tools to produce marketing material.
A retailer in Nagpur, for example, might use AI to create product images, promotional videos or a digital spokesperson. Routine image adjustments may not require a label, but a realistic synthetic spokesperson or a fabricated product demonstration could trigger disclosure requirements depending on how it is used.
Small businesses should pay particular attention to claims about product quality, performance and customer experiences. An AI-generated scene should not imply that a product has been tested in circumstances that never occurred.
Regional-language advertising also requires careful review. Translating a genuine advertisement or generating accurate subtitles may fall within the accessibility exemptions, but using a digitally replicated person’s voice for personalised promotional messages can require disclosure.
Businesses with limited compliance resources can begin by documenting their AI usage, checking whether synthetic content could influence purchasing decisions and reviewing campaigns before they are published.
When Do the Guidelines Take Effect?
ASCI issued its final guidelines in September 2026 following stakeholder consultation on the draft released in May. The guidelines state that they will come into effect three months after publication.
Advertisers and agencies should check the official publication date and implementation timeline before setting compliance deadlines. Preparing early is advisable because campaigns may involve multiple creative vendors, platforms and approval stages.
The guidelines operate alongside the existing ASCI Code, which continues to apply to advertising claims and representations. Advertisers should therefore review both the synthetic-content disclosure requirements and the broader rules governing truthful, fair and responsible advertising.
The framework reflects a growing need to distinguish between legitimate creative applications of AI and synthetic content that could mislead consumers. For the advertising industry, the challenge is to preserve the benefits of AI while making sure that audiences can understand when realistic advertising content has been artificially generated.
Key Takeaways
- ASCI requires AI disclosure when synthetic content could materially influence consumer decisions and its absence could mislead audiences.
- Synthetic influencers, certain replicated faces or voices, realistic fabricated settings and specified product demonstrations require disclosure.
- Fabricated testimonials, misleading product claims and unauthorised use of likenesses or copyrighted material can remain prohibited even when labelled as AI-generated.
- Routine editing, advertising copy generation and qualifying accessibility applications generally do not require AI labels.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do all advertisements created using AI need a disclosure label?
No. ASCI follows a risk-based approach. Routine editing, administrative text generation and certain accessibility uses generally do not require disclosure. Labelling is required in specified cases where synthetic content could materially affect consumer understanding or purchasing decisions.
2. Can brands use AI-generated influencers under ASCI’s guidelines?
Yes, subject to the applicable requirements. Synthetic influencers and ambassadors require disclosure so consumers can understand that they are interacting with a digital personality rather than a real human being. Other advertising rules continue to apply.
3. Can an AI disclosure label make a misleading advertisement acceptable?
No. A label does not excuse fabricated testimonials, deceptive product demonstrations, unauthorised use of a person’s likeness or other violations of the ASCI Code. The advertisement itself must comply with the applicable standards.
4. When will ASCI’s AI advertising guidelines take effect?
ASCI has stated that the guidelines take effect three months after publication. They were issued in September 2026, so advertisers should verify the official publication date and implementation deadline before finalising their compliance plans.
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