Do UGC creators have to label AI content? What applies in November 2026

This is general information, not legal advice. If a contract or a campaign depends on the answer, ask a lawyer.

Federal: no general AI label rule, but the old rules still apply

You may have seen claims about a new federal rule requiring an AI label on every post. The law firm Coblentz wrote on October 15 that the FTC has issued no rule or guidance requiring disclosure just because generative AI was used. Existing deception law applies instead, whoever or whatever made the ad.

Two FTC documents do most of the work for creators:

• The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake or false testimonials. It has no blanket ban on AI avatars, but the FTC says an avatar's message may be treated as a testimonial, which is prohibited if it is fake or false. A paid influencer who lies about using a product can be liable.
• The Endorsement Guides say you cannot describe an experience with a product you have not tried, or suggest regular use after trying it once. Free products and payment generally need disclosing, and the best place is inside the video, near the start.

New York: a specific rule for AI performers

New York's General Business Law § 396-b took effect on June 9, 2026. According to Cooley's summary:

• Ads must conspicuously disclose a synthetic performer: a digitally created asset meant to look like a human performer, and not recognizable as any identifiable person.
• The duty sits with those in the business of dealing in any property or service who produce or create an ad for it, and only with actual knowledge that a synthetic performer is in the ad.
• Penalties are $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after that.
• Audio-only ads, AI used only to translate a human performer, and media outlets that merely carry the ad are outside it.

Whether an independent creator making an ad for a brand falls inside that wording is not something the summaries we read settle. Treat it as a contract question and decide up front who is responsible.

Platforms add their own rules

Coblentz notes that YouTube, TikTok and Meta require labels on realistic AI-generated or altered content, as platform terms rather than law. TikTok Shop's AI page is the most detailed we have read, and we cover it in our article on the TikTok Shop rules.

Common situations

This table is our own reading of the sources above, not official guidance.

What to add to your next contract

• Which AI tools are allowed. Editing help and generated people are very different requests.
• Who adds any label, and where it goes.
• Rights to any AI copy of your face or voice. Coblentz notes that some states, including New York and California, limit digital replica terms. Do not sign these away in a general usage clause.
• A note that you used the product, with dates. If a script makes a claim about your experience, it has to be true.