Google adds AI labels to ads across Search, YouTube and Discover

Google has introduced a new feature, allowing users to know whether an advertisement was created or edited using artificial intelligence. It is a transparency feature called AI disclosure, which is rolling out inside company’s My Ad Centre. It will be applied to the ads shown on YouTube, Google Discover, and Google Search.Also Read: Google launches AI-powered advertiser features in push for automation

What is the AI disclosure feature for ads?

The new feature introduced by Google is called AI disclosure inside the Ad Centre. The feature will be visible with a label ‘Created or edited with AI.’ It will be displayed under the ‘How this ad was made’ section. If you are interested, you can access the feature by clicking the three dot menu displayed on supported advertisements. In addition, you can also access it on the information icon inside the Ad Centre.

To recall, this panel inside the Ad Centre already allows users to view information related to ads, block ads, understands why a particular ad is shown, and report ads. What’s more interesting with the latest update is that it will now provide greater transparency about the use of AI in advertising content.

Check out how AI label works?

According to Google, the AI disclosure will be applied to any advertisement which uses company’s own generative AI advertising tools to edit or create ads.

However, if someone is producing advertisement using third party AI tools, then it is the responsibility of advertisers to manually indicate whether AI was used while creating the ads. Google, on the other hand will not independently verify whether any external AI tools were used in the ads or not.

The AI disclosure feature will directly appear on the advertisement itself in certain regions. This will happen either because local regulations wanted the transparency or because advertisers voluntarily disclosed the AI usage.

Why Google introduced AI disclosure?

We all know that artificial intelligence is significantly used in businesses to create marketing content. Businesses are using AI to produce promotional visuals and generating product images. Now, they don’t require expensive photo shoots and extensive editing.

While these AI tools are helping in reducing the production costs and improving creativity, but it also raising concerns regarding whether consumers are able to distinguish AI generated content and authentic video or images.

With the latest update, Google aims to provide users with additional and useful information about advertisement they see across its platforms.

Google is bringing and maintaining policies against misleading and deceptive advertisements. Nevertheless, AI generated contents are not necessarily prohibited as long as they comply with Google’s rules and regulations.

Google’s AI transparency efforts

The new ad labels are part of Google’s ongoing efforts to create transparency around AI-generated content.

The company added new synthetic/digitally altered content disclosures in political advertisements in 2024. Google also added support for technologies like SynthID and C2PA, which aid in identifying AI created or manipulated digital content, earlier this year, including deepfakes.

The new changes bring transparency to commercial ads, providing additional information about the creation of ads.

Other platforms following the same move

Google is not the only tech company to add AI disclosures to ads.

Meta already offers an “AI info” label for eligible ads on its platforms in its About this ad section. With the rise of AI-generated content, major tech giants are rolling out more and more transparency measures to help users recognise when AI has been involved in the creation of digital content.

Google is making a further move in the direction of transparency by introducing new labels for AI in its My Ad Center, while supporting advertisers in responsible use of generative AI.

How it will be beneficial for users?

The AI disclosure will be available in the familiar My Ad Center user interface. When users tap the three-dot menu or the information icon on an advertisement, they can find information about the advertiser, learn more about why the ad was seen and now also get a better understanding of whether AI was used to create or edit the ad.

The feature is rolling out worldwide on ads appearing on Google Search, on YouTube and Google Discover.

What it means for advertisers

Advertisers who leverage google’s built-in generative AI tools will have the disclosure process automatically performed for them with no additional steps required. But advertisers using third-party AI platforms will have to make a disclosure as to whether AI was used to create the ad.

This way, it’s the advertiser’s responsibility to ensure they are correctly informing consumers about the content they’re using AI to create and helping them understand the use of AI in their production.

Rollout timeline

Users around the world will be able to access the feature via Google’s My Ad Center, the company said. In some markets, some markets may even be required to mention AI on ads, providing users with a clear indication of whether the content was created with AI or not.

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