# Amazon Requires Metadata Labels for AI People > Source: > Published: 2026-08-05 07:09:19+00:00 # Amazon Requires Metadata Labels for AI People In late July 2026, Amazon began requiring sellers to tag listing images and videos containing photorealistic AI-generated people before uploading them to its worldwide stores. The policy requires the keyword "contains-synthetic-performer" in the dc:subject XMP metadata field and says qualifying content may receive a customer-facing indicator. Quartz reported that the change followed New York's synthetic-performer disclosure law. In late July 2026, Amazon began requiring sellers to add metadata to product images, videos, and A+ content that contain photorealistic AI-generated people. In a Seller Central announcement, Amazon instructed sellers in its worldwide stores to add the keyword contains-synthetic-performer to the dc:subject XMP field before uploading qualifying files. The requirement covers photorealistic AI-generated people, rather than AI-generated content generally. Amazon stated that sellers must use an IPTC-compatible metadata editor and that, when the prescribed metadata is present, it may add an indicator informing customers that the content includes AI-generated people. Quartz reported that Amazon notified sellers of the requirement after New York adopted a law requiring disclosures when advertising uses a "synthetic performer" in place of a human actor. Quartz also reported that Amazon had not specified the criteria for when a shopper-facing label would appear. ### What content is covered Amazon's announcement applies to product images and video, including A+ content, its enhanced listing-page graphics and video format. Amazon listed several exclusions from the metadata requirement: - •Content featuring only real people, including people altered with AI tools. - •Characters from films, television, streaming content, documentaries, video games, or other expressive works. - •Content with no people. - •Content that does not depict photorealistic people. The distinction matters because the rule is tied to the realism of a synthetic person, not to whether generative AI assisted in an image's production. A seller using AI for background generation or retouching without a photorealistic synthetic person is not covered by the wording of Amazon's main announcement. ### A metadata-based disclosure workflow Amazon's stated implementation relies on embedded file metadata. The required value is contains-synthetic-performer, placed in the dc:subject field of XMP metadata. XMP, or Extensible Metadata Platform, is commonly embedded in media assets and can carry descriptive fields across content-management and creative-production systems. That design creates an operational requirement for teams producing marketplace creative: metadata needs to survive export, asset management, compression, and upload workflows. In comparable regulated content pipelines, teams commonly add validation before publication because metadata can be stripped or overwritten when files move among design tools, digital asset managers, and delivery systems. ### Regulatory backdrop According to Quartz, New York's synthetic-performer law took effect in June and requires disclosure for advertising that uses digitally created media appearing to be a real person. Governor Kathy Hochul's office characterized the measure as a first-in-the-nation law and said undisclosed synthetic performers and manipulated media can make it harder for the public to distinguish fact from fiction. The Amazon policy places that disclosure obligation into a large e-commerce content workflow. More broadly, platform-level labeling requirements can turn provenance from a policy issue into a production-system concern, particularly for brands that generate high volumes of localized product imagery and video. ## Key Points - 1Amazon requires contains-synthetic-performer metadata for photorealistic AI people, converting advertising disclosure into a pre-upload content-processing requirement. - 2The rule excludes AI-altered real people and non-photorealistic content, making realistic synthetic-person detection the central catalog-governance boundary. - 3Comparable regulated media workflows often require automated metadata validation because creative exports and asset-management transfers can remove embedded fields. ## Scoring Rationale Amazon's requirement affects the operational handling of AI-generated creative across a major retail marketplace and connects state disclosure law to asset metadata workflows. It is most relevant to teams building generative-media, digital asset management, and e-commerce publishing systems, though it is not a model or platform API release. ## Sources Primary source and supporting public references used for this report. Practice with real Ad Tech data 90 SQL & Python problems · 15 industry datasets [Active Search Campaigns by BudgetEasy](/problems/sql/active-search-campaigns-by-budget) [High CPC Clicks & Poor Landing PagesMedium](/problems/sql/high-cpc-clicks-poor-landing-page) [Campaign ROAS by Attribution ModelHard](/problems/sql/campaign-roas-by-attribution-model) 250 free problems · No credit card [See all Ad Tech problems](/problems/datasets/adtech)