Google introduced new transparency features that would show whether an ad uses artificial intelligence elements in its creative. The disclosure feature is aimed at showing how an ad was created in order to provide additional transparency for the growing number of digital advertisements that involve AI technologies.
How the New Disclosure Feature Works
According to the new policy, users will be able to tap the three-dot menu on a Google ad in order to view the “how this ad was made” panel. The panel will show whether an ad uses generative AI technology in its creation.
Google noted that the disclosure system will make the process easy for advertisers. If a brand uses Google’s generative AI ad tools to build an ad, Google automatically adds a disclosure to the My Ad Center panel. For ads created using other tools, Google introduces a control which allows an advertiser to disclose the use of generative AI.
There is an important difference between these two cases since they represent quite different scenarios. On the one hand, an advertiser can create an ad in Google’s ecosystem and Google will automatically add a disclosure. On the other hand, an advertiser can use creative created elsewhere with the help of various outside tools. In this case, Google depends on an advertiser to report such a situation and use a new control.
The Technology Behind the Labels
In order to detect the use of AI tools, Google uses SynthID, the company’s digital watermarking tool. SynthID embeds a specific signal into AI-generated content, and the signal remains detectable even if an image or video is modified, resized, or compressed. This allows Google to detect AI use without relying solely on advertiser disclosure.
Google also incorporates C2PA metadata signals into the system. C2PA stands for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity and provides verifiable information about the content creation and editing process. By adding C2PA metadata signals to the SynthID system, Google expands the list of AI generated ads which it is able to identify even if they do not use Google’s tools.
The combination of a proprietary watermarking tool and an open industry standard suggests that Google wants to ensure that its labeling system will detect the use of any AI regardless of what tools were used in its creation.
Where and How Disclosures Will Appear
Google stated that the exact placement of the AI disclosures will depend on local requirements and the presentation may differ according to the region where an ad will be presented. In some cases, a tag will appear directly on an ad, either applied automatically by Google or added by an advertiser.
The regional approach to AI disclosures points to the patchwork of requirements to label AI in advertising and media that has emerged around the world. Different governments and regulatory bodies use various approaches to require AI disclosures, and Google’s labeling system seems to be designed to fit different requirements rather than apply one single global standard.
Why AI Disclosure Is Becoming a Bigger Priority
Labeling AI use has become important as more and more creators and brands have started using generative tools to speed up content production. With the development of these tools, their use in advertising is likely to increase and make transparency about their use more important to how audiences perceive the ads.
Google’s approach follows the general trend in the advertising industry, where major platforms have introduced AI labeling systems recently. For example, Meta has already updated its disclosure tags to label AI-generated ads on its platform. There are similar concerns about informing the audience about AI use in the creative they view.
With the further improvement of generative AI tools, the line between human-made and AI-assisted ads will be harder for viewers to recognize. Google tries to preserve it by combining automatic AI detection through SynthID with an option for advertisers to use a disclosure control.
What This Means for Advertisers
Advertisers now need to disclose AI use in their ads to their audiences, since AI involvement in ad creative can no longer stay unnoticed since disclosures will be added automatically to the My Ad Center panel. However, advertisers who use AI creative from outside sources will need to report such use to Google by using the new disclosure control.
This change increases the pressure on advertisers to understand how their creative assets were produced and which AI tools were used to create them. With the expansion of the labeling requirements across more platforms, keeping track of production history will become routine for advertisers.
How This Fits Into the Bigger Picture on AI in Advertising
Generative AI technology has been rapidly adopted within the advertising industry over the past year with brands using these technologies to create not only product images but even full video spots at a speed and price point unachievable by traditional production methods. This speed is making AI generated creative more popular across search, display, and social ad formats, which is part of why platforms have started developing systems that can keep pace with how quickly the content is evolving.
The problem for a platform developing such a system is coverage. A watermarking solution such as SynthID is capable of detecting only what it was designed to recognize, which is why Google uses SynthID in tandem with C2PA metadata and manual disclosure control. Advertisers may use a combination of different tools within a single campaign, generating the initial image with one AI tool and then editing and upscaling it with another, which makes consistent detection possible only through multiple overlapping layers of detection.
What Advertisers Should Watch Going Forward
Currently, the introduction of Google’s AI disclosure feature offers a fairly painless way to stay compliant, as using the company’s own tools does not require any additional effort. However, as more regions implement their own regulations around AI disclosure in advertisements, advertisers relying on multiple AI tools across multiple campaigns are going to require clear processes for tracking what creative involves AI at any stage of its creation.
Such tracking is likely to become increasingly important over time, not less. As more regulations appear and more platforms introduce their own versions of this type of labeling, the ability to answer a simple question, whether a specific piece of creative involved AI and where, is going to become a routine part of ad operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q 1: What is Google’s new AI disclosure feature for ads?
It is a transparency tool that lets viewers see whether generative AI was used to help create an ad, accessible through a “how this ad was made” panel.
Q 2: How do viewers access the disclosure information?
Viewers can tap the three dot menu on a Google ad to open the new information panel.
Q 3: How does Google detect AI use in ads automatically?
Google uses SynthID, a digital watermarking system that identifies AI generated content created using Google’s own tools.
Q 4: What happens if an advertiser uses an outside AI tool?
Advertisers using generative AI tools outside of Google’s ecosystem can manually indicate that AI was used through a new disclosure control.
Q 5: What is C2PA and why does it matter here?
C2PA is an industry standard for verifying how content was created and edited, and Google is using its metadata signals to expand its AI labeling coverage.
Q 6: Will AI disclosures look the same everywhere?
No. Google said the placement and format of disclosures will depend on local requirements, so presentation may vary by region.
Q 7: Do advertisers need to do anything if they use Google’s AI ad tools?
No. Disclosures are added automatically to the My Ad Center panel when Google’s own generative AI tools are used.
Q 8: Are other platforms doing something similar?
Yes. Meta has introduced its own updated disclosure tags for AI generated ads, reflecting a similar industry-wide push for transparency.
Q 9: Why is AI disclosure becoming more important now?
As more creators and brands use generative AI tools to speed up content production, transparency helps audiences understand how the ads they see were made.
Q 10: Does this affect all ads on Google’s platforms?
The disclosure applies specifically to ads that include AI generated elements, whether created through Google’s tools or flagged manually by advertisers using outside tools.
