The Pulse
Pennsylvania Signs AI Ad Disclosure Law, Effective Dec. 21
Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania’s Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act on October 22, 2026. The law requires clear disclosures for certain AI-generated or modified ad content that could create a false impression about goo
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Pennsylvania’s new AI-ad law promises consumers clearer signals about synthetic content, but its disclosure requirement applies only when that content creates a false impression about a product or service. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 806 on October 22, making it Act 99 of 2026; the measure takes effect December 21. Its narrow trigger leaves advertisers to judge when AI imagery, audio or video crosses from creative presentation into a misleading claim.
A disclosure rule tied to deception
The law, called the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, covers synthetic content significantly modified or generated by AI, including images, video and audio. Advertisers must disclose that an ad contains content modified or generated using artificial intelligence when that content creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised. The text also defines AI to include generative AI.
Sen. Nick Pisciottano, the bill’s prime sponsor, described the goal as consumer protection: “Consumers deserve to know if AI is being used to create a false impression about a product or service.” That formulation tracks the law’s deception standard. It does not require a label on every ad that uses AI.
Labels must appear with the synthetic content
When the rule applies, the disclosure must state that the advertisement contains content modified or generated using AI. It must be clear and conspicuous, appear the first time the synthetic content is presented, and use the same medium as that content. Where technically feasible, the disclosure must also be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove.
The statute exempts content that is evidently fictional based on its depiction or context, along with parody, satire, commentary, criticism and content limited to text. That last exception sits beside a definition of synthetic content that includes text, so the law’s scope depends on how those provisions apply together. The measure preserves other legal recourse rather than making a disclosure a defense to a separate claim.
Enforcement rests with state and local officials
The Pennsylvania attorney general or an appropriate district attorney may seek an injunction or bring a civil action over violations. A court may award a civil fine of up to $3,000, as well as actual attorney fees and court costs. The law does not create a general labeling duty for every AI-assisted advertisement; the statutory trigger remains a false consumer perception about a product or service.
That distinction has already drawn scrutiny. In an October 23 analysis, Loeb & Loeb attorney Libby O’Neill said the enacted language leaves open what kind of false perception triggers disclosure, contrasting a broad reading—AI used to depict a product—with a narrower one requiring some additional misrepresentation. The final text passed the Senate 48–2 and the House 163–40 before Shapiro signed it. Advertisers have until December 21 to prepare for a rule whose central test is deception, not AI use alone.