AI images on platforms and marketplaces
Every platform has its own rules for AI content. Your duty under Article 50 of the EU AI Act applies alongside them.
Amazon, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and Google require their own information on AI content, usually machine-readable or as a notice the platform adds itself. Your duty as deployer under Article 50(4) of the AI Act follows the image and applies on every platform. A platform label does not automatically replace your own.
| Platform | What applies | Very large platform (para. 126) |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Keyword contains-synthetic-performer for AI people, your own check for every image. | yes |
| Etsy | Disclosure in the listing description, your own check of product photos. | no |
| eBay | No AI-specific rule, but no text and no watermarks in images. | no |
| Facebook and Instagram | “AI info” only partly automatic; label ads with third-party AI yourself. | yes |
| TikTok | Label realistic AI content, AIGC label in ads. | yes |
| YouTube | “AI use” setting in YouTube Studio for realistic AI content. | yes |
| “AI modified” via IPTC and classifiers, in the menu for ads. | yes | |
| Google Shopping | IPTC requirement, allowed AI labels, Merchant Center setting. | yes |
Your duty applies everywhere
Deep fakes that you generate or manipulate with AI in your business, or have a contractor create to your instructions, must be disclosed (Article 50(4) AI Act, guidelines paras. 12 and 14). This applies in your own store and on every platform.
An overlay in your own store does not reach any platform, because marketplaces, feeds and social networks show the image file. Deployers in multi-stage distribution chains should use proportionate means to make sure their label reaches the audience (guidelines, para. 12). Outside your store, that leaves a visible label in a copy of the file and the platform's labelling tools.
Under the guidelines, deployers may rely on a very large online platform's tools within that platform if they allow a clear and distinguishable disclosure (para. 126). How far this carries is not settled. A notice that appears only sometimes, or only after a click, does not automatically replace your own visible label.
Tools for platforms
- Labelling check: tells you whether an image needs a label.
- Label an AI image: a copy with the label burned in for marketplaces, feeds and social networks.
- Write AI metadata: the IPTC field for Google and Pinterest.
- Check an AI image: shows existing AI metadata, including Amazon's keyword.
Platforms in detail
Amazon
Keyword contains-synthetic-performer for AI people, your own check for every image.
ReadPlatformEtsy
Disclosure in the listing description, your own check of product photos.
ReadPlatformeBay
No AI-specific rule, but no text and no watermarks in images.
ReadPlatformFacebook and Instagram
“AI info” only partly automatic; label ads with third-party AI yourself.
ReadPlatformTikTok
Label realistic AI content, AIGC label in ads.
ReadPlatformYouTube
“AI use” setting in YouTube Studio for realistic AI content.
ReadPlatform“AI modified” via IPTC and classifiers, in the menu for ads.
ReadPlatformGoogle Shopping
IPTC requirement, allowed AI labels, Merchant Center setting.
ReadFrequently asked questions
Does a platform's AI label replace my own disclosure?
Not automatically. You may only rely on it on very large online platforms and under the conditions in para. 126 of the guidelines.
Does my store label also appear on marketplaces?
No, an overlay only works in your own store. For other channels you need a copy with the label burned in, or the platform's tools.
May I remove AI metadata so a platform adds no label?
We advise against it. Google requires embedded metadata to be preserved. Under the Code of Practice, AI providers prohibit the intentional removal of such markings in their terms of use.
Sources
Para. refers to the paragraph number in the European Commission's guidelines on Article 50, C(2026) 5054.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act)EUR-Lex · Law · 12 Jul 2024
- Commission Guidelines on the transparency obligations under Article 50 AI Act, C(2026) 5054 finalEuropäische Kommission · Commission · 20 Jul 2026
- Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content (final version)Europäische Kommission · Code of practice · 10 Jun 2026
- European Commission: list of designated very large online platforms and search enginesEuropäische Kommission · Commission · 7 Sept 2026
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