---
title: "Does an AI image need a label?"
canonical: https://withicarus.com/tools/ai-image-disclosure
site: Icarus
description: "Whether an AI-generated image has to be disclosed under the EU AI Act, Meta's ad rules and Amazon's policy."
---

# Does an AI image need a label?

Whether an AI-generated image has to be disclosed under the EU AI Act, Meta's ad rules and Amazon's policy.

## What each set of rules asks

- **European Union** -- People in the European Union will see it
- **Facebook and Instagram ads** -- It runs as an ad on Facebook or Instagram
- **Amazon listings** -- It goes on an Amazon listing

## The published rules

### European Union: the AI Act, from 2 August 2026

The EU AI Act says anyone using an AI system that makes a deep fake has to say the content was made or changed by AI. A deep fake is content that looks like real people, objects, places or events and would pass for real. This applies from 2 August 2026.

The rule does not cover an AI system that only helps with standard editing, or that does not substantially change what you gave it. A real photo with light edits is not a deep fake.

The AI Act also tells the maker of the AI system to mark what it produces in a machine-readable way, so software can tell it was made by AI. That is the tool's job, not yours. The European Commission's Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated Content, published on 10 June 2026, sets out how the companies that signed it do that.

Sources: EU AI Act, Article 50 (https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/50/), EU AI Act, Article 3, definition 60 (https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/article/3/), European Commission: Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated Content (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-ai-generated-content), checked 19 September 2026.

### Facebook and Instagram ads

Meta adds an AI info label to ads made or materially edited with Meta's own AI creative features, such as background generation and image generation. When an ad shows a photo-real person made with AI, that label sits next to Sponsored at the top of the ad. Meta does not label ads made with other companies' AI tools, and does not label small changes such as resizing or colour correction.

Ads about social issues, elections or politics work differently. Meta already requires the advertiser to disclose an image, video or audio that was digitally created or altered, including with another company's AI tool.

Sources: Meta: AI info labels (https://www.meta.com/help/artificial-intelligence/355108217670024/), checked 19 September 2026.

### Amazon listings

Amazon asks for a photo-real person made with AI to be tagged contains-synthetic-performer in the file's details, in the XMP subject field.

Sources: Amazon Seller Central: Product image guide (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G1881), checked 14 September 2026.

## What this page is, and is not

This is a summary of rules those organisations have published, with a link and a date on every one. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover every country or every place you might sell. Where a rule affects money or a listing being taken down, read the source and ask someone who advises you.

Rules we could not read on an official page are left out. TikTok is one: its seller and creator pages did not load when these were checked, so nothing from TikTok is here.

## The tool

Answer the questions at https://withicarus.com/tools/ai-image-disclosure and it says whether a label is needed, not needed, or added by the platform itself, with the published rule behind each answer. Free, no account.


---

Site: Icarus (https://withicarus.com)
Canonical: https://withicarus.com/tools/ai-image-disclosure
Contact: tanmay@withicarus.com