# Glossary URL: https://www.ai-label.app/en/glossary/ Updated: 2026-10-11 > 38 terms on labelling AI-generated images under Article 50 of the EU AI Act explained: deep fake, deployer, EU icon, C2PA, IPTC and more, with sources. ## In short 38 terms on AI labelling under Article 50 of the EU AI Act, from AI Act to XMP. Legal terms come from the AI Act and the European Commission's guidelines (cited by paragraph number, para.), technical terms from the IPTC and C2PA standards. ## AI Act Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU's law on artificial intelligence. It regulates AI systems according to their risk, applies directly in every member state and was most recently amended by the Digital Omnibus. Article 50 has applied since 2 August 2026. More: [Labelling obligation](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-labelling-obligation/) ## AI literacy (Article 4) Providers and deployers of AI systems must take measures to support the AI literacy of their staff, without having to guarantee a particular level (Article 4 AI Act as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744). The obligation has applied since 2 February 2025, including to retailers who create AI images. More: [AI images in online stores](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-images-in-online-stores/) ## Article 50 The transparency obligations of the AI Act, applicable since 2 August 2026 (Article 113). Paragraph 1 covers chatbots, paragraph 2 machine-readable marking by providers, paragraph 4 visible labelling of deep fakes and certain texts by deployers, and paragraph 5 form and timing. More: [Labelling obligation](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-labelling-obligation/) ## Artistic works If a deep fake is part of an evidently artistic, creative, satirical or fictional work, a disclosure that does not hamper the work is enough (Article 50(4), third sentence). The guidelines read “evidently” narrowly (para. 122). For product and advertising images this lighter form generally does not apply. More: [What a deep fake is](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/deepfake/) ## Bundesnetzagentur Germany's Federal Network Agency, the market surveillance authority for the AI Act (§ 2(1) KI-MIG) and central complaints office. Complaints can be filed free of charge through an online form (§ 8 KI-MIG). More: [Fines and enforcement](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/fines-and-enforcement/) ## Burn-in The label is written permanently into the image's pixels and so also appears in feeds, marketplaces and downloads. This creates a new file and invalidates any existing C2PA manifest, so the original should be kept. More: [Label design](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-label-design/) ## C2PA Open standard of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity for embedding signed provenance information in a file: who created it, with which tool and whether AI was involved. If a program changes the file without re-signing, the signature becomes invalid. More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## Code of Practice Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content, final version of 10 June 2026. It describes how providers can mark and deployers can label content, for example with “AI” as the main element, visible without interaction. Participation is voluntary; the Code does not create a presumption of conformity (recital 41 of Regulation (EU) 2026/1744). More: [Code of Practice](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/code-of-practice/) ## compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia Value of the IPTC field DigitalSourceType for images edited with generative AI, for example by inpainting or outpainting. In full: `http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia`. More: [IPTC tool](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/write-ai-metadata/) ## Content Credentials The name under which C2PA provenance information is shown. It reveals whether and how AI was involved in an image, provided the tool wrote it and nobody removed it. Missing Content Credentials do not prove that no AI was used. More: [Check metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/check-ai-image/) ## Deep fake AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video content that resembles existing persons, objects, places, entities or events and would falsely appear authentic (Article 3(60) AI Act). According to the guidelines this includes consumer goods; it is enough that something could plausibly exist (para. 113). More: [What a deep fake is](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/deepfake/) ## Deployer Anyone using an AI system under their authority, except for purely personal purposes (Article 3(4) AI Act). A retailer is a deployer when it, or a contractor acting on its instructions, uses AI to create or change images (guidelines paras. 12, 14). Deployers must label deep fakes (Article 50(4)). More: [AI images in online stores](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-images-in-online-stores/) ## Digital Omnibus on AI Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 amending the AI Act, in force since 27 July 2026. Providers have until 2 December 2026 for machine-readable marking of older systems (Article 111(4)); there is no transition period for deployers. More: [Deadlines](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/deadlines/) ## DigitalSourceType IPTC field (`Iptc4xmpExt:DigitalSourceType`) that uses an address from the IPTC vocabulary to state how an image was made, for example by camera, software or generative AI. Google reads the field, and Merchant Center requires it for AI-generated product images. More: [IPTC tool](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/write-ai-metadata/) ## EU icon Three icons freely provided by the European Commission, “AI”, “AI GENERATED” and “AI MODIFIED”, in black and white. Using them is optional, and an equivalent label of your own is allowed, for example in other colours. Using them does not mean signing the Code of Practice. More: [EU icons](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/eu-ai-icons/) ## EXIF Exchangeable Image File Format: technical data such as camera, exposure, date or software that cameras and programs write into images. EXIF is not designed for AI provenance, although some tools note their name there. The data is often lost when images are uploaded or resized. More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## First exposure The moment a person sees content for the first time. The disclosure must be there at the latest then (Article 50(5) AI Act), for every person and every output (guidelines para. 143). In a store this is often already the product card in a collection or search. More: [Label design](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-label-design/) ## Generative AI AI systems that create new text, images, audio or video from an input, including image generators and generative fill in image editors. Their providers must mark the output in a machine-readable way (Article 50(2) AI Act). More: [Labelling obligation](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-labelling-obligation/) ## Guidelines The European Commission's guidelines on the transparency obligations under Article 50, C(2026) 5054 final of 20 July 2026, with examples that include product images. They are not binding (para. 5); only the Court of Justice of the EU can interpret the law bindingly. More: [Guidelines](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/article-50-guidelines/) ## Inpainting AI regenerates one area of an image to remove, replace or add an object. The guidelines call removing a passer-by from the background a minor change (para. 116); an added object that changes what the image says goes beyond standard editing (para. 92). More: [Labelling check](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/ai-labelling-check/) ## IPTC International Press Telecommunications Council. Its Photo Metadata Standard defines fields for image information, including DigitalSourceType for provenance and, since version 2025.1, fields on the AI system used. They are usually stored in the file's XMP block. More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## KI-MIG The German act on AI market surveillance and innovation (KI-Marktüberwachungs- und Innovationsförderungsgesetz) implements the AI Act in Germany (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 223). In force since 29 July 2026, it makes the Bundesnetzagentur the market surveillance authority and central complaints office. More: [Fines and enforcement](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/fines-and-enforcement/) ## Legacy content Deep fakes generated or manipulated with AI before 2 August 2026 do not need to be labelled retroactively, although the guidelines encourage it (para. 154). What counts is the date of the last AI edit, not the upload date. More: [Deadlines](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/deadlines/) ## Manifest The data block in which C2PA stores a file's provenance information, such as editing actions and the DigitalSourceType, signed with a certificate. If the manifest is valid, the information has not been changed since signing. More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## Market surveillance Official checks on compliance with the AI Act, in Germany by the Bundesnetzagentur. Authorities can ask deployers about their labelling practice (guidelines para. 148), and anyone can file a complaint (Article 85 AI Act). More: [Fines and enforcement](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/fines-and-enforcement/) ## Merchant Center Google's platform for product data in Google Shopping. For AI-generated product images, Google requires the IPTC field in the image file and prohibits removing embedded metadata. The field and a visible label in the store do not replace each other. More: [Google Merchant Center](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/google-merchant-center/) ## Outpainting AI extends an image beyond its edges, for example for a different aspect ratio. The guidelines count edge completion as standard editing (para. 92) and background extensions in product advertising as minor changes (para. 116). If a new scene is created, the assessment can differ. More: [Labelling check](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/ai-labelling-check/) ## Overlay The website's code places the label on top of the image; the image file stays unchanged. The Code of Practice explicitly allows this (measure 1.2.1 c). The label only appears where the code runs, not in downloads, feeds or marketplaces. More: [Label design](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-label-design/) ## Paragraph number (para.) The guidelines are numbered paragraph by paragraph; “para. 113” refers to paragraph 113 of guidelines C(2026) 5054. This makes every statement traceable to the original. More: [Guidelines](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/article-50-guidelines/) ## Provider Anyone who develops an AI system or has it developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under their own name (Article 3(3) AI Act), such as the maker of an image generator. Providers of generative AI must mark its output in a machine-readable way (Article 50(2)); a retailer that merely uses such tools is generally a deployer. More: [Labelling obligation](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-labelling-obligation/) ## Second layer Additional information on the label that opens on click, tap or keyboard, for example whether an image was generated or modified with AI and what was changed. The Code of Practice encourages it. It must be accessible, for example closable with Esc (WCAG 1.4.13). More: [Label design](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/ai-label-design/) ## Standard editing Editing that only prepares existing content for publication: cropping, colour and brightness correction, sharpening, background removal, edge completion (guidelines paras. 90 to 92). If AI only does this and the product still looks as it does in reality, a label is generally not required under the guidelines. More: [What a deep fake is](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/deepfake/) ## Synthetic performer A term from New York State law (General Business Law § 396-b) for an AI-generated, human-like figure that does not correspond to any recognisable real person. Since June 2026, advertising with such figures must disclose this conspicuously, which may also affect EU stores selling to customers in the USA. More: [Worldwide](https://www.ai-label.app/en/worldwide/) ## SynthID An invisible watermark by Google DeepMind for content from Google's AI tools. It sits in the pixels, not in the metadata, and can only be checked with Google's tools. Like any machine-readable marking, it does not replace the visible label (guidelines para. 117). More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## trainedAlgorithmicMedia Value of the IPTC field DigitalSourceType for images created entirely with generative AI. In full: `http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia`. This is the value Google Merchant Center expects for AI-generated product images. More: [IPTC tool](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/write-ai-metadata/) ## Upscaling AI enlarges an image and adds detail in the process. The guidelines call re-scaling in product advertising a minor change (para. 116), and enhancement for clarity counts as standard editing (para. 92). If the AI invents visible details on the product, it is more than upscaling. More: [Labelling check](https://www.ai-label.app/en/tools/ai-labelling-check/) ## Watermark A visible or invisible mark in the image itself. Invisible watermarks are among the machine-readable markings of providers (Article 50(2)); deployers cannot rely on them because people cannot see them (guidelines para. 117). More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## XMP Extensible Metadata Platform: a format for metadata stored as text in the image file, usually holding the IPTC fields including DigitalSourceType. C2PA uses a data block of its own. More: [Metadata](https://www.ai-label.app/en/guide/c2pa-iptc-metadata/) ## Sources - Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), EUR-Lex, 2024-07-12: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401689 - Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), EUR-Lex, 2026-07-24: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/1744/oj - Commission Guidelines on the transparency obligations under Article 50 AI Act, C(2026) 5054 final, Europäische Kommission, 2026-07-20: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-transparency-obligations-providers-and-deployers-ai-systems - Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content (final version), Europäische Kommission, 2026-06-10: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-ai-generated-content - EU icons for labelling AI-generated content, Europäische Kommission, 2026-09-24: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-icons-labelling-ai-generated-content - German AI Market Surveillance and Innovation Act (KI-MIG), Bundesgesetzblatt 2026 I Nr. 223, 2026-07-28: https://www.recht.bund.de/eli/bund/bgbl-1/2026/223 - IPTC NewsCodes: Digital Source Type, IPTC, 2024-10-23: https://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/ - IPTC Photo Metadata Standard 2025.1, IPTC, 2025-11-26: https://www.iptc.org/std/photometadata/specification/IPTC-PhotoMetadata - C2PA Technical Specification 2.2, Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, 2025-05-01: https://spec.c2pa.org/specifications/specifications/2.2/specs/C2PA_Specification.html - Google Merchant Center: AI-generated content, Google, 2026-10-03: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14743464 - New York General Business Law § 396-b (synthetic performers), New York State Senate, 2026-06-09: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/396-B - Google DeepMind: SynthID, Google DeepMind, 2026-10-11: https://deepmind.google/models/synthid/ - W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, W3C, 2018-06-05: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/ Not legal advice.