What changed
Images, video and A+ content showing photorealistic AI-generated people must carry the metadata keyword contains-synthetic-performer before upload
When
Amazon notice dated July 22, 2026; New York synthetic performer law in effect since June 9, 2026
Who it affects
Third-party sellers and brands in every Amazon store that use AI-generated people in listing media
What to do
Audit listing and A+ media for AI people, tag the files, re-upload, and keep a record of which assets are synthetic

Key takeaways

  • Since July 22, 2026 Amazon asks sellers to tag photorealistic AI-generated people in images, video and A+ content with contains-synthetic-performer.
  • New York's synthetic performer law, in effect since June 9, 2026, fines $1,000 then $5,000 per violation, and the risk sits with the ad creator.
  • Audit every asset, tag AI-person files in batch, re-upload, and test conversion on tagged listings.
Tag neededNo tag
Fully AI-generated lifelike model
Real person retouched with AI
Film, TV or game character
Product only, no people
Cartoon or illustrated person

Amazon notice, July 22, 2026, as quoted by GeekSeller

What Amazon told sellers

The notice, quoted in full by GeekSeller, asks sellers to tag images that contain photorealistic AI-generated people before adding them to listings and A+ content in any Amazon store worldwide. The method is technical: open the file in an IPTC-compatible metadata editor and add the keyword contains-synthetic-performer to the XMP dc:subject field. When Amazon reads that tag, it adds an indicator for shoppers where applicable. Amazon has not published what the indicator looks like or exactly when it appears.

Forbes and Quartz both reported the notice in late July and tied it to New York's law. Neither found an Amazon statement on penalties for sellers who skip the tag. Amazon's broader image rules still apply, which our Amazon image requirements guide covers.

What needs the tag and what does not

Amazon lists four cases that do not need the tag. Everything else that shows a lifelike person made by AI does.

  • Needs the tag: a fully AI-generated model wearing, holding or using your product, in a main image, gallery image, video or A+ module.
  • No tag: real people, even if the photo was retouched or altered with AI.
  • No tag: characters from films, TV, streaming, games or other expressive works, such as cover art.
  • No tag: images with no people.
  • No tag: people who are not photorealistic, such as cartoons and illustrations.

The New York law behind it

Forbes identifies the law as S.8420-A/A.8887-B, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2025 and in effect from June 9, 2026. It amends New York General Business Law section 396-b and requires a conspicuous disclosure when an ad in any medium includes a synthetic performer, meaning a digital human made by generative AI that is not a recognizable real person. Liability sits with whoever produces or creates the ad with actual knowledge that it contains one. Fines are $1,000 for the first violation and $5,000 for each later one.

DAM Law Firm reads the law as putting the risk on the seller rather than Amazon, which is treated as a distributor. Its own illustration: 50 untagged images could, at most, add up to $246,000 if each counted as a separate violation. No public enforcement had been reported when it wrote in August. California's AI Transparency Act took effect August 2, 2026, but its duties fall mainly on large AI providers and platforms, not on individual sellers.

How the AI people rule arrived

  1. New York signs synthetic performer law

  2. Law takes effect, fines $1,000 then $5,000

  3. Amazon asks sellers to tag AI people

  4. California AI Transparency Act operative

So what: the risk in plain numbers

The cost of compliance is small and the cost of ignoring it compounds. Worked example, illustrative numbers: a brand has 40 ASINs, each with 7 gallery images and 1 A+ module of 5 images, so 480 assets. If an audit finds 60 assets with AI-generated people, tagging them in a batch tool and re-uploading might take a designer about 6 hours. At $50 an hour that is $300. The same 60 assets, untagged and counted as separate New York violations, would carry a theoretical maximum of $1,000 plus 59 times $5,000, which is $296,000. Real enforcement may be far lower or never come, but the gap between $300 and that ceiling is the reason to run the audit now.

There is a softer cost too. If the indicator makes shoppers trust an image less, conversion on AI-model images can fall. Test it rather than guess, and see our Amazon product photography guide for when a real shoot pays back.

What sellers should do this week

Each step names who does it, where, and the number that shows it worked.

  • Creative lead: export every image and video URL per ASIN from your listing files and A+ Content Manager, and mark each asset as real person, AI person, no person or illustration. Metric: share of assets reviewed, target 100%.
  • Designer: add contains-synthetic-performer to the XMP dc:subject field of every AI-person file, using ExifTool, Photoshop or Bridge in batch. Metric: tag present when you re-read the file metadata.
  • Catalog manager: re-upload the tagged files through Manage All Inventory and A+ Content Manager, then spot check 10 listings on the live page. Metric: no image suppressed and listings stay active.
  • Brand owner: add a rule to your creative brief and agency contracts that every delivered file states whether it contains AI people. Metric: zero untagged AI assets in new uploads.
  • Ads manager: compare conversion on ASINs where AI-person images now carry the indicator against similar ASINs without it over 30 days, and swap in real photography where it drops. Metric: unit session percentage before and after. Our Amazon listing optimization team runs these image tests.
  • Legal or compliance owner: keep a dated log of synthetic assets and when they were tagged. Metric: log covers every live AI-person asset.

AI image cleanup

  • Export all images and A+ media per ASIN
  • Mark real, AI person, no person, illustration
  • Add contains-synthetic-performer to XMP dc:subject
  • Re-upload and spot check live pages
  • Add AI disclosure to creative briefs
  • Test conversion on tagged ASINs

When this does not apply

If your images use only real models, product-only shots, flat lays or illustrations, you have nothing to tag. AI that removes backgrounds, fixes lighting or retouches a real person does not trigger the rule. The New York fines apply to ads that reach New York, and whether a given listing image counts as a separate violation has not been tested in court, so treat the $5,000 figure as the ceiling, not the expected cost. Ad creative inside Sponsored Brands and other campaign tools follows the Amazon Ads review process, which DAM says the notice does not address.

Where PPC Spider helps

PPC Spider audits listings, images and A+ content alongside ads, and SpiderOS monitors listings, bids, search terms and stock. To find which of your assets need a tag and which images cost you conversion, book a free Amazon audit. More policy changes sit on our Amazon FBA news page.

Sources

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