Many brands have been using AI-generated lifestyle imagery for a while now. A synthetic model in a product photo costs less than a studio shoot, and the results can be indistinguishable from the real thing. That's exactly why Amazon, as of July 2026, now requires you to disclose it.
If any of your listing images, A+ Content, or product videos feature a person who was generated entirely by AI, you need to tag that file with a specific metadata keyword before you upload it. The keyword is contains-synthetic-performer, and it goes into the file's XMP metadata before it ever touches Seller Central.
What This Is and Why Amazon Cares
The requirement traces back to New York's AI advertising disclosure law, which took effect June 9, 2026. Under New York General Business Law section 396-b, any advertisement containing a "synthetic performer" needs a conspicuous disclosure. A synthetic performer is defined as a digital asset created or modified by generative AI to give the impression of a real human in a visual or audiovisual performance. The fine is $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after that, and the obligation falls on the advertiser, which on Amazon means the seller or brand owner.
Amazon isn't limiting this to New York listings. The requirement applies across all of its worldwide stores, so treating it as a global policy is the right call regardless of where your customers are.
When You Need the Tag
The rule is narrower than it might sound, and the line Amazon draws is clear: did a real human being stand in front of a camera, or was this person built from scratch by an AI?
You need the tag when your image or video contains a photorealistic person who was generated entirely by AI. That covers synthetic models in lifestyle shots, AI-generated human presenters in product videos, and any other media where a fully artificial person looks like a real one.
You don't need the tag when a real person was photographed, even if you used AI tools to retouch the image, clean up the background, adjust lighting, or swap out a backdrop. The test is whether a real human was behind the image, not whether AI touched it afterward. You also don't need it for illustrations, cartoons, characters from movies or video games, or images with no people at all.
Amazon's guidance adds a practical note: if you're genuinely unsure whether an image qualifies, tag it anyway. An unnecessary disclosure is a smaller problem than a missing one.
What Happens If You Don't Tag
Amazon can flag untagged media and remove it. If the affected image is your main listing photo and you don't have a compliant replacement ready, your listing can be suppressed from search until you fix it. That's the kind of compliance issue that tends to surface at the worst possible time, specifically during a product launch or a high-traffic period, so it's worth getting ahead of now.
How to Add the Tag
The tag goes into the file's XMP metadata, in the field Amazon calls dc:subject. This is the standard subject and keywords field, and most photo editing tools can write to it. The keyword must be added to the file before upload, not after.
Photoshop and Illustrator
Both apps use the same workflow. Go to File, then File Info, and open the IPTC panel. In the Keywords field, type contains-synthetic-performer and press Enter, then click OK. The keyword writes directly to the file's XMP metadata and survives export to JPEG, PNG, or TIFF.
Lightroom
Open the file in the Library module and find the Keywording panel on the right. Type contains-synthetic-performer into the keyword field and press Enter. Lightroom writes this to XMP immediately for files in your catalog. If you're doing a catalog audit and need to tag many images at once, you can select multiple files and apply the keyword to all of them in one step.
Figma and Canva
Neither Figma nor Canva writes XMP metadata to exported files, so you can't add the tag inside the tool itself. Export your file as usual, then follow the macOS or Windows steps below to tag it before uploading to Amazon.
macOS
Open the exported file in Preview and press Cmd+I to open the Inspector. Click the Keywords tab, then click the + button at the bottom of the pane. Type contains-synthetic-performer and press Enter. The keyword will appear in the list.
Windows
Right-click the file and select Properties, then go to the Details tab. In the Description section, find the Tags field and type contains-synthetic-performer. Leave the Subject field alone, because the Subject and Tags fields write to different metadata locations and Amazon reads the one fed by Tags. Select OK when done.
Command Line (ExifTool)
For video files, large batches, or Linux environments, ExifTool is the standard tool. The command is:
exiftool -XMP-dc:Subject+=contains-synthetic-performer yourfile.jpg
The += operator appends the keyword without overwriting anything else in the metadata. After tagging, verify with exiftool -G1 yourfile.jpg and look for a line reading [XMP-dc] Subject: contains-synthetic-performer.
Audit Your Existing Catalog
The requirement applies to media you upload going forward, but it's worth auditing what's already live. If you've been using AI-generated models in your A+ Content or lifestyle imagery, those files may need to be retagged and re-uploaded. A+ Content is specifically called out in Amazon's guidance because synthetic lifestyle models are common there.
The easiest approach is to incorporate tagging into your standard image workflow: before any file goes to your design team for final export, tag it if it contains a synthetic person. That way the question never comes up at upload time.
If you need help auditing your listings or building a compliant content workflow for your brand, our content optimization team works with brand sellers on exactly this kind of catalog hygiene. Schedule a call and we'll take a look at what you have.