Google is introducing a new feature designed to help users identify when an advertisement has been created or edited using AI technology. The tool will appear within Google’s “My Ad Center” panel, accessible through the three-dot menu or info icon on ads shown across Google Search, YouTube and Google Discover.
The panel, which already allows users to block or report ads and view information about advertisers, will now include an option labeled “How this ad was made,” indicating whether AI was used in the ad’s creation. Google said the disclosure will be applied automatically when advertisers use the company’s own generative AI advertising tools. For ads created using outside tools, advertisers will be responsible for manually indicating AI involvement, as Google will not independently verify whether AI was used. In certain markets, ads may also carry AI labeling where required by local law.
The update expands AI-disclosure requirements beyond election advertising, which had previously been the only category Google required to disclose synthetic or digitally altered content. The company noted that AI tools have made it easier for businesses to produce ads and place products in varied settings without traditional photography, while acknowledging the potential for such content to mislead consumers unaware that images are not authentic product photos.
