Videos · Glossary
Do you have to disclose an AI generated video?
Yes, when the video realistically shows a person, place or event that is not real. YouTube asks creators to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content, TikTok requires realistic AI generated content to be labelled, and Meta labels it. In the EU, Article 50 of the AI Act requires deep fakes to be disclosed. Obviously stylised content is generally exempt.
Nobody is asking you to label a colour grade or a generated background. The rules are about one thing: a video a reasonable viewer could mistake for a recording of something real, and above all a synthetic person saying something about a real product.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
5 min read · Published · Updated
What triggers a label
Realism plus subject matter. A generated person speaking to camera, a generated place presented as your premises, a generated event presented as having happened. The platforms word it differently but agree on the principle: if a reasonable viewer could take it for a record of something real, it needs a label. YouTube's disclosure setting covers realistic altered or synthetic content, TikTok's rules cover realistic AI generated content, and Meta applies an AI info label and asks people to disclose photorealistic video they post. Obvious stylisation, animation, captions and clearly unreal imagery generally sit outside all three.
The law, not only the platforms
Two sets of rules sit behind the platform policies. In the European Union, Article 50 of the AI Act requires anyone deploying an AI system that generates or manipulates video amounting to a deep fake to disclose that it was artificially generated, with a lighter touch for evidently artistic or satirical work. In the United States, the FTC's Endorsement Guides in 16 CFR Part 255 require that an endorsement reflect the honest opinion and real experience of the endorser, and the FTC's 2024 rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465, prohibits testimonials attributed to people who do not exist. A synthetic customer praising a product fails both, and no label repairs that.
The case that matters here: a synthetic UGC creator
The video builder has a UGC mode, available on the Pro plan and up, that produces a creator style ad under 30 seconds with at most three talking scenes. It works from one written description of a single persona: one portrait is generated from that description, one synthetic voice speaks every line, and an avatar model animates the portrait for each talking beat. Nobody in that video exists. That is exactly the shape the rules target, so treat every UGC video from this mode as synthetic media: switch on the platform's AI disclosure when you upload, say it on screen early, and never script it as a customer testimonial. Let the creator demonstrate or explain the product rather than claim a personal experience with it.
Where the line is comfortable
Promotional and tutorial videos are a different case. Promos can place real stock clips from Pexels, animated text scenes, generated illustrative images and a synthetic voiceover, and tutorials are built from your own screenshots with a synthetic narrator. None of that depicts a real event that did not happen, provided a generated image is not presented as your actual shop, team or product. Narration from a synthetic voice over genuine footage is treated far more leniently than a synthetic face, though a voice presented as a specific real person should be disclosed.
Common mistakes
Assuming a caption hashtag counts as disclosure, when the platforms and the FTC both want it where viewers actually see it. Using a generated face in a before and after shot. Presenting a generated interior as your real premises in a property or hospitality ad. Adding a label to a synthetic testimonial and treating the problem as solved. And forgetting that the obligations follow the content across platforms: a video labelled on one app and reposted without the label on another is undisclosed there.
Questions people ask
Does a generated voiceover need disclosing?
Narration over your own footage is usually treated more leniently than a synthetic person on screen, because the platforms' rules are written around realistic depiction of people and events. If the voice is presented as a specific real person, disclose it. Check the current policy of the platform you post to, since these rules have changed often since 2024.
Are generated background images a problem?
Illustrative backgrounds that do not claim to be a real place are generally fine without a label. It changes when a generated image is presented as your shop, your team or your product, because that depicts something real that is not real, which is exactly what the platform rules and advertising law target.
Is a label enough for a synthetic testimonial?
No. A label satisfies the platform's synthetic media rule; it does not satisfy advertising law, which requires an endorsement to reflect a real person's honest experience. In the United States a testimonial from a person who does not exist is prohibited outright, so a generated customer praising your product is a problem whether or not it is labelled.
What happens if an AI video is not disclosed?
Platforms may apply a label themselves, reduce distribution or remove the video, and repeated failures can affect the account. In advertising the exposure is wider, because a regulator treats a misleading ad as misleading regardless of which app carried it, and consumer law penalties can apply to the business that ran it.
Do the rules apply to organic posts too?
Yes. The platforms' synthetic media disclosure requirements are about the content itself, not about whether money was spent promoting it. The endorsement and testimonial rules apply to commercial speech more broadly, which is why a paid ad built around a synthetic creator carries both sets of obligations at once.
When did the EU AI Act disclosure duty start?
The transparency obligations in Article 50, including disclosure of deep fakes, apply from 2 August 2026. They cover deployers who publish synthetic or manipulated video, image or audio, which includes a business posting an AI generated ad aimed at people in the EU, wherever the business itself is based.
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Create a video with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is a UGC ad?What is a UGC ad: a paid advert made to look like an ordinary creator post. What defines the format, how to structure one, and the disclosure rules that apply.
- What is a faceless video?A faceless video carries its message with footage, on screen text and a voiceover instead of a person on camera. How to structure one, and when a face wins.
- What is a product demo video?What is a product demo video? A recording of a product doing a real job for a buyer, and how it differs from an explainer and a tutorial in viewer and shape.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .