Is it legal to make AI ads?
Last updated 2026-10-20
The short answer
Generally yes, but this is not legal advice, and rules differ by country and change. AI does not exempt an ad from existing rules: claims must be truthful, TikTok's ad rules bar a public figure's likeness without permission, and you need rights to any music or brand you use. Platforms and the EU add labeling duties. Check the current rules where you advertise.
What the rules cover
Deceptive claims and fake endorsements. In September 2024 the FTC, under its chair at the time, announced five actions over exaggerated AI claims and an AI tool that wrote fake reviews, and said there is "no AI exemption" from existing laws. None of those cases was about an ad made with AI tools. Two other FTC pages are closer to your ad. Its August 2024 fake-reviews rule covers AI-generated fake reviews and testimonials from people who do not exist or never used the product. Its Endorsement Guides, updated in 2023 to cover virtual influencers, say an endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser. By that logic, a synthetic customer cannot honestly describe using your product.
Real people's likeness and voice. An FTC post from November 2023 warns that voice artists could have their voices appropriated, harming their reputation and income. TikTok's ads policy, updated April 2026, bars using a public figure's likeness, audio or visual, without permission, and bars false endorsements or endorsements by a public figure without permission. These are an FTC warning and a platform rule, not a statement of the law in your country. Get written permission for any real person.
Copyrighted and branded material. TikTok's ads policy, updated April 2026, bars third-party brands without authorization and counterfeit or pirated products, and says advertisers are responsible for what they post. After a valid report the ad is removed, and the advertiser account can be suspended temporarily or permanently. The page does not mention AI, and this page does not cover who owns AI output. Check any music, logos, characters and footage you put into or take out of a generator.
Platform labels. TikTok allows significantly edited or fully AI-generated ads only with its AIGC label or your own clear disclaimer, caption, watermark or sticker. Significant means completely AI-generated content, making a subject do something they did not do, or AI voice cloning. Lighting, color, background removal and noise reduction are minor. If you are unsure, TikTok says to label. Undisclosed AI content is rejected or restricted. Meta shows an AI info label on ads fully created or substantially edited with its own generative AI ad tools, but not on minor edits or ads made with third-party tools. For social issue, election or political ads, Meta requires you to disclose digitally created or altered images, video or audio, including from third-party tools.
EU transparency rules (AI Act, Article 50). The Commission says Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026. Providers of AI tools must mark generated output in a machine-readable way. Deployers, meaning those using AI under their own authority for other than personal non-professional use, must disclose deepfakes: AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video that resembles existing people, objects, places, entities or events and falsely appears authentic. The disclosure is due at first exposure, in a clear and distinguishable manner. For evidently artistic, creative, satirical or fictional work the duty is limited to a disclosure that does not hamper enjoying the work. It is not a duty to label every AI ad. National authorities enforce it.
Where Woven fits, and what stays with you
Woven Video is an AI video editor for Mac. You edit your own footage on a timeline and can add generated shots. Woven does not add AI labels to your video for you, and it does not check music rights. Disclosure and rights are the advertiser's job.
- Add your own label. Use Add, then Text, and pick the Pill style for a readable rounded label. The Watermark style is uppercase at reduced opacity, which may not count as clear on a platform that asks for a clear disclaimer. A new text box lasts 3 seconds, so drag its edge to cover the whole video.
- Captions are burned in. Captions become part of the exported MP4, and Woven cannot export a caption file or a separate closed-caption track, so a label meant to stay on screen has to be a text item or a platform setting.
- Edit with your own footage first. Footage you shot is the base. Generation of images, video and audio is available on request and uses Woven credits, and any shot you generate is AI-generated for labeling purposes.
- Music rights are yours to clear. Woven makes no rights check and gives no licensing guidance for imported or downloaded music. Song identification returns the track, the artist and an Apple Music link, which helps you find who to ask.
- Posting happens elsewhere. Woven has no publishing or scheduling to social or ad platforms. You export an MP4 and set the platform's AI toggle or label there.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes public pages from the FTC, the European Commission and ad platforms as we read them on 20 October 2026. Rules differ by country and change, so ask a qualified lawyer about your campaign.
A checklist before you publish
- 1Check the claims and the people. Make sure every claim is true and that you can back it up. Do not use an AI-made person as a customer who tried your product, because the FTC says an endorser cannot talk about experience they do not have.
- 2Get permission for faces, voices and music. Written permission for any real person's likeness or voice, and a license or a clearly cleared source for any music, logo or character.
- 3Label as the platform asks. Read the current ad policy for each platform you run on. If you are unsure whether an edit is significant, TikTok says to label it.
- 4Check again before each campaign. The rules move. Google's AI labeling update for advertisers was posted on 9 July 2026, and the EU's Article 50 began applying on 2 August 2026.
Woven needs macOS 15 or later and a plan or trial. It exports an MP4 and does not publish for you.
FAQ
None of the pages we opened says that using AI to make an ad is illegal in itself. Existing rules on truthful claims, endorsements, real people's likeness and rights to the material you use still apply, and the platforms and the EU add labeling rules. Rules differ by country and change, and this is not legal advice.
We cannot say what claims could be brought in your country, so ask a lawyer. What the platform pages do show is the practical risk: a valid copyright or trademark report on TikTok gets the ad removed and can get the advertiser account suspended. A real person whose face or voice you used without permission is the other obvious source of complaints.
It depends on the platform, the edit and the country. TikTok requires a label or your own clear disclosure for significantly edited or AI-generated ads. Meta applies its AI info label itself for its own tools and requires disclosure on social issue, election and political ads. Google Ads has an AI content label setting, and when a campaign targets the EU, India or New York, assets you mark as AI-made also get a visible label on the ad. In the EU, Article 50 asks deployers to disclose deepfakes.
Google says its AI label setting does not guarantee compliance with specific regulations and tells advertisers to seek legal guidance. Where it is legally required, Google may label assets itself, and those labels cannot be overwritten. YouTube's help page asks creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content on uploads. It does not address paid promotion, so check Google's ad policies for ads.
In one study of visual ads from NYU Stern and Emory, telling consumers an ad was AI-made cut click-through by 31.5%. That is one study, and a platform that requires a label does not make it optional. See the research page for what the studies measured.
Do not, without written permission. TikTok's ads policy bars a public figure's likeness without permission and false endorsements, and the FTC has warned about voice appropriation. This is a platform rule and an FTC warning, not a legal opinion for your country.
More answers
Do AI ads work, and can they earn money? See Do AI video ads work?, Can you monetize AI videos on YouTube? and Can AI edit my video?.
Sources
- FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes (FTC, September 2024), checked October 20, 2026
- Final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (FTC, August 2024), checked October 20, 2026
- FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (FTC), checked October 20, 2026
- Updated advertising guides to combat deceptive reviews and endorsements (FTC, June 2023), checked October 20, 2026
- Preventing the Harms of AI-enabled Voice Cloning (FTC, November 2023), checked October 20, 2026
- Transparency obligations under Article 50 of the AI Act (European Commission, updated July 2026), checked October 20, 2026
- Article 50 of the AI Act (EU AI Act Service Desk), checked October 20, 2026
- Misleading and false content (TikTok Ads Policy), checked October 20, 2026
- Intellectual Property Infringement (TikTok Ads Policy), checked October 20, 2026
- How AI-generated images in ads are identified and labeled on Meta (Meta Help), checked October 20, 2026
- Updates to AI labeling requirements, July 2026 (Google Advertising Policies Help), checked October 20, 2026
- Use AI content label settings and disclosures (Google Ads Help), checked October 20, 2026
- Disclosing use of GenAI content (YouTube Help), checked October 20, 2026
- The AI Advertising Paradox (NYU Stern Research Highlights), checked October 20, 2026
Try Woven free for 3 days
Then $25/mo billed yearly ($299/yr) or $39/month. Native Mac app for short-form video.
Paste into Claude Code to install and connect Woven.