Google will now reveal which ads are created using artificial intelligence

Google is rolling out a new feature aimed at helping people understand when the ad they’re seeing was created using AI technology.

AI makes it easier for businesses to create ads, place their brand products in different settings, and save money on real-world e-commerce photography. But it can also be misleading if consumers don’t know that what they’re looking at isn’t an actual product image. Although Google prohibits misleading and deceptive ads, advertising can still leverage artificial intelligence to create some type of artificial or digitally modified content. So far, this is something Google has only required disclosure through election ads.

The tech giant said the new consumer-facing feature will be introduced in the “My Ad Center” panel, which anyone globally can access by tapping the three-dot menu or information icon on ads they see across Google Search, YouTube, and Google Discover.

This panel allows users to block or report ads and learn more about the advertiser or why the ad was shown, among other things. Users will now also see an option that says “How was this ad created,” which will indicate whether the ad was created or modified using artificial intelligence.

Google says that when advertisers use its AI-generated advertising tools to create ads, detection will be automatically enabled.

However, if the ad was created elsewhere, the advertiser will need to use a new control to indicate whether AI was involved in its creation – Google will not conduct its own check to determine if this is the case. In some markets, advertising may also be labeled as artificial intelligence if local law requires it.