When did New York's synthetic performer disclosure law take effect?

June 9, 2026. Governor Hochul signed S8420-A on December 11, 2025 as Chapter 617 of the Laws of 2025, and the act took effect on the 180th day after it became law. The disclosure rule sits in General Business Law 396-b, subdivision 3.

Does the law apply if my company is not based in New York?

The statute doesn't draw a geographic line. Subdivision 3 covers any person in the business of selling property or services who produces or creates an ad, in any medium. If your ads reach New Yorkers, plan to disclose; how far the state will go against out-of-state advertisers hasn't been tested.

What is a synthetic performer under New York law?

A digitally created asset, made or changed by computer using generative AI or a software algorithm, intended to look like a human giving a visual or audiovisual performance, where the human isn't recognizable as any identifiable natural performer. Traditional CGI can qualify; a clone of a real person doesn't.

Who enforces the law, and can consumers sue?

The statute sets a civil penalty but doesn't name an enforcer or give consumers a right to sue. Law firm McDermott Will & Schulte reads that as pointing to the New York attorney general or another state authority. No enforcement action had been announced as of October 16, 2026.

Are audio ads, translations and movie trailers covered?

No. Subdivision 7 exempts audio advertisements and AI used solely to translate a human performer's language. Subdivision 4 exempts ads for expressive works such as films, TV, streaming, documentaries and video games, if the synthetic performer is used the same way as in the work.

Do platforms or publishers have to take down non-compliant ads?

No. Subdivision 8 says the section doesn't apply to the media that publish or disseminate an ad, naming newspapers, magazines, TV networks and stations, streaming services, cable systems, billboards and transit ads. The duty sits with the business that produces or creates the ad.

New York Synthetic Performer Ad Law: AI Disclosure Guide

Image: Unsplash.

If your ads use an AI avatar, a synthetic spokesperson or an invented "customer", New York now wants a label on them. General Business Law 396-b is short: a definition, one disclosure duty, a penalty and a list of exemptions. We read the enacted bill, S8420-A, on the New York State Assembly site and corrected an earlier version of this guide, which described a platform takedown duty that doesn't exist. Below is what the text says, the wording we'd use, and a checklist for a small marketing team.

What the law requires

Governor Kathy Hochul signed S8420-A (same as A8887-B), sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, on December 11, 2025 as Chapter 617 of the Laws of 2025. It took effect on June 9, 2026.

Element	What the text says
Who must disclose	Any person "engaged in the business of dealing in any property or service" who, for a commercial purpose, produces or creates an ad for that property or service
Which ads	Ads "in any medium or media"
The duty	Conspicuously disclose in the ad that a synthetic performer is in it
Knowledge	Only "where such person has actual knowledge"
Penalty	A civil penalty of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any later one (the amounts in the verdict above)
Who enforces	Not stated

New York State Assembly bill page for S08420A: summary, same as A08887-B, sponsor Gianaris, amends section 396-b of the General Business Law, and actions ending with signed chapter 617 on December 11, 2025

Screenshot: S08420A bill page, New York State Assembly, checked October 16, 2026.

When the governor announced on June 9 that the law was in force, Rosenthal said "consumers have a right to know if the person featured in those ads is real or fake." SAG-AFTRA, the performers' union, backed it as protection against "performance replacement".

What counts as a synthetic performer

The statute defines it as "a digitally created asset created, reproduced, or modified by computer, using generative artificial intelligence or a software algorithm, that is intended to create the impression that the asset is engaging in an audiovisual and/or visual performance of a human performer who is not recognizable as any identifiable natural performer."

Three things follow from that sentence. It covers software, not only AI, so a digital human built with ordinary visual-effects tools can count, as Cooley's lawyers point out. It needs a visual performance, which is why audio-only ads are also exempt. And it excludes anyone recognizable, which is where likeness laws take over.

Content in your ad	Covered by 396-b?	Why
An AI avatar spokesperson who isn't any real person	Yes	A digital human performance, not recognizable as a real person
An invented "customer" in a testimonial video	Yes	Same reasoning
A CGI digital human made without generative AI	Yes	"or a software algorithm"
Digital extras in the background of a scene	Possibly	The law doesn't define "performer"; Cooley thinks it may reach extras
An AI clone of a real, named employee or influencer	No	Recognizable as a real person: a likeness and consent question
An AI voice-over with no on-screen human	No	Not a visual performance, and audio ads are exempt
An AI dub of a real actor's own lines into another language	No	Exempt when AI is used solely for translation
A video game character in that game's own ad	No	Expressive works exemption, if used as in the game

Who isn't covered

Subdivisions 3 to 8 of the amended General Business Law 396-b in bill S8420-A: the disclosure duty and penalty, the expressive works exemption, savings clauses for civil rights law and 47 U.S.C. 230, exemptions for audio and translation, and the exemption for advertising media

Screenshot: S8420-A text, subdivisions 3 to 8, New York State Assembly.

Ads for expressive works (subdivision 4): films, TV programs, streaming content, documentaries, video games and similar works, provided the synthetic performer is used in the ad the same way it is in the work.
Audio ads and translation (subdivision 7): audio advertisements, and cases where AI "solely involves the language translation of a human performer".
The media that carry the ad (subdivision 8): newspapers, magazines, TV networks and stations, streaming services, cable systems, billboards and transit ads that publish or disseminate it. There is no takedown or remediation duty for them.
Other rights stay as they are (subdivisions 5 and 6): the section doesn't change rights under New York Civil Rights Law sections 50, 50-f and 51, and neither limits nor enlarges Section 230 protection for online services.

Deceased performers' digital replicas are handled by a different bill signed the same day, S8391 (Chapter 616 of the Laws of 2025), which amends Civil Rights Law 50-f. It isn't an exemption inside 396-b.

Writing the disclosure

The statute says "conspicuously" and nothing more: no wording, placement, size or duration. McDermott Will & Schulte suggests the FTC's "clear and conspicuous" standard as a working benchmark, meaning close to what it qualifies, big and long enough to notice, and not hidden behind a link or in fine print. We'd go one step further on video. A bill introduced in the Assembly on September 2, 2026, A11683, would require the disclosure in audiovisual ads to stay "visible for the entire duration" the synthetic performer is on screen. It's only in committee, but it tells you what the sponsor thinks "conspicuous" should mean.

New York State Assembly bill page for A11683, sponsored by Rules (Rosenthal), which would require disclosure for the entire duration a synthetic performer is featured in an audiovisual advertisement; referred to consumer affairs and protection on September 2, 2026

Screenshot: A11683 bill page, New York State Assembly, checked October 16, 2026.

Wording you can copy

No wording is a safe harbor until the state or a court says so. These say plainly that a synthetic performer is in the ad:

Short (on-screen overlay, social captions):

"This ad contains an AI-generated performer."

Standard (video card, ad copy):

"This advertisement contains one or more synthetic performers generated using artificial intelligence."

Long (landing pages, print):

"One or more people shown in this advertisement were digitally created and do not depict any real individual."

The standard line is also one of McDermott's examples. If the performer was built with CGI rather than generative AI, drop the AI wording and say "digitally created".

Where to put it

Our suggestions, based on the FTC benchmark and the A11683 approach, not on rules in the statute:

Video ads on social platforms and pre-roll: burn the line into the video while the performer is on screen, and repeat it in the ad text above any "more" cutoff.
Image ads: on the image itself, near the performer, at a readable size.
CTV and streaming: on screen for the whole time the performer appears, since there is often no text field.
Landing pages: next to the content with the performer, not only in the footer.

Penalties and enforcement

The penalty is a civil penalty for each violation, at the two amounts in the verdict. The statute doesn't say who brings the case or whether a violation is counted per ad, per placement or per day. McDermott notes there is no express private right of action, "suggesting that enforcement would likely rest with the New York attorney general or another state enforcement authority." We found no announced enforcement action as of October 16, 2026.

Checklist for a small marketing team

1. List every live and recent ad with a digital human. Avatars, AI spokespeople, invented testimonial "customers", CGI extras.
2. Sort each one with the table above. Fully synthetic (disclose), a real person's likeness (consent question under other laws), voice-only or translation-only (exempt).
3. Ask your agency and AI vendors in writing which assets are synthetic. The duty turns on actual knowledge, so find out rather than guess.
4. Add the disclosure using the wording above, on screen while the performer is visible.
5. Decide the New York question once. If ads are national or you can't confirm New York is excluded from targeting, treat them as in scope.
6. Put a synthetic-performer check in creative approval so no ad ships without a disclosure decision.
7. Add a contract clause making agencies and freelancers flag synthetic performers and the disclosure before delivery.
8. Keep a record of what you reviewed, what you decided and who told you an asset was synthetic.
9. Watch A11683. If it passes, it takes effect 30 days after it becomes law and changes both the duration rule and the definition.

How it fits with likeness laws

Law	What it covers	Real person required?	Remedy
New York GBL 396-b (June 9, 2026)	Disclosure of synthetic performers in ads	No, the opposite: the performer must not be recognizable	Civil penalty, at the amounts above
Washington personality rights law (SSB 5886, June 11, 2026)	Use of a real person's name, voice, photograph, likeness or forged digital likeness in goods, ads or fundraising without consent	Yes	$3,000 civil penalty plus actual damages and profits; noneconomic damages for a forged digital likeness
Tennessee ELVIS Act (signed March 21, 2024)	Adds voice to Tennessee's existing protection of a person's name, image and likeness	Yes	See our ELVIS Act guide

New York asks whether you told viewers a human was fake. Washington and Tennessee ask whether you had permission to use a real one. A campaign with both kinds of AI people needs both checks.

What we could not confirm

Who enforces. The statute names no agency. The attorney general is the likely candidate but hasn't said so publicly that we could find.
Out-of-state advertisers. The disclosure duty has no geographic wording, unlike the older dealer-ad rule in the same section, which says "in this state". How New York will treat an ad made elsewhere but shown to New Yorkers is untested.
How violations are counted. Per ad, per placement or per impression is not stated.
A11683's chances. It was referred to the Assembly consumer affairs committee on September 2, 2026, with no further action listed when we checked.

Correction (October 16, 2026): An earlier version said platforms must remove flagged non-compliant ads within 5 days of notice; the law has no such duty, and subdivision 8 exempts the media that publish or disseminate ads. It said the attorney general enforces the law; the statute names no enforcer. It said New York enacted the law in January 2026; Governor Hochul signed it on December 11, 2025 as Chapter 617 of the Laws of 2025. It said the law applies to any ad that reaches New York consumers wherever the advertiser is based; the statute doesn't say. It listed deceased performers' digital replicas as an exemption; they are covered by a separate law, Chapter 616, and 396-b has no such exemption. It said several states had introduced copies of the law in 2026, which we could not source. An earlier version also dated Washington's AI likeness law June 10, 2026; the Washington Legislature's bill page for SSB 5886 lists June 11, 2026, and the same row said the Washington law covers sexual and deceptive AI content with statutory damages; the enacted text covers use in goods, advertising and fundraising, with a civil penalty plus actual damages, profits and, for a forged digital likeness, noneconomic damages.