Google Updates Policies on Political Advertising Including AI-Generated Content

Last year, Google announced that it would require political advertising in the United States (and in many other regions) to disclose when the advertising incorporates AI-generated content.  Google explained that if political advertising includes "synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events," the advertising must disclose that information in a clear and conspicuous manner.  The policy also required advertisers to ensure that the disclosure is "placed in a location where it is likely to be noticed by users." 

In a recent announcement, Google said that it is updating its advertising policies to provide that the required disclosure would now be automatically generated by Google for many advertising formats.  For those formats, since Google is providing the disclosure, the platform will not require advertisers to add an additional disclosure about AI-generated content.  

The formats where Google will be automatically generating the disclosure are: 

• Feeds on mobile phones; 
• Shorts on mobile phones; and
• In-stream (computers, mobile phones, mobile web, and television screens).

For all other formats, advertisers are still responsible for providing the disclosure.  

Google indicated that while the language of the disclosure may vary based on the specific situation, examples of potentially acceptable disclosures include: 

• Altered or synthetic content; 
• This audio was computer generated; 
• This image does not depict real events; and 
• This video content was synthetically generated.

It's important to remember, however, that these are only Google's policies.  Regardless of what Google requires, and the disclosure choices that Google makes, advertisers are still generally responsible for ensuring that their own advertising is not misleading and that any necessary disclosures are included properly.