Google is adding a new disclosure feature to its ads that tells users when artificial intelligence was used to create or edit what they're looking at. The label will appear inside the existing “My Ad Center” panel, which is accessible through the three-dot menu or info icon on ads across Google Search, YouTube, and Google Discover.
As reported by TechCrunch, the new “How this ad was made” option will roll out globally, giving users a clearer picture of whether the product image or video they just saw was real or generated by an AI tool.
The move comes as AI makes it significantly cheaper and faster for businesses to produce ad content. Brands can now generate polished product photos, place items in lifestyle settings, and produce video ads without a single photo shoot. That's good for advertisers' budgets, but it raises a real question for consumers: how do you know what's real?
Google already bans misleading and deceptive ads, but an ad can still use AI-generated or digitally altered content without breaking those rules. Until now, the only ads required to carry AI disclosures on Google's platforms were election ads. This new feature extends that transparency to commercial advertising more broadly.
The “My Ad Center” panel already lets users do a few things:
- Block or report specific ads
- Learn more about who is advertising
- See why a particular ad was shown to them
The AI disclosure will be added on top of those existing options. When an advertiser uses Google's own generative AI tools to build an ad, the disclosure will be switched on automatically. No extra steps required on the advertiser's side.
The situation is more complicated when an ad is built outside of Google's tools. In those cases, the advertiser is responsible for flagging whether AI was involved. Google has confirmed it will not independently audit or verify third-party ads to check for AI-generated content. That's a significant gap, since a large portion of ads running on Google's platforms are built using outside creative tools. In some regions, local laws may require an AI label regardless, which would trigger the disclosure automatically.
The broader context here matters. Regulators and consumer groups around the world have been pushing for clearer labeling of AI-generated content, particularly in advertising and media. The EU's AI Act, for instance, includes requirements around transparency for AI-generated material. Google's move aligns with that direction, even if the self-reporting mechanism for non-Google tools leaves some room for inconsistency. Whether advertisers actually use the new control honestly remains to be seen, but the infrastructure for disclosure is now there.
