Microsoft Advertising has tightened its approach to artificial intelligence in advertising, requiring marketers to provide clearer disclosure when campaigns contain certain AI generated or significantly AI altered content.
The updated guidance places greater responsibility on advertisers to show when synthetic material has been used, particularly where it could influence how consumers understand or interpret an advertisement.
Brandspur Brand News reports that Microsoft is also reminding advertisers that they remain responsible for ensuring AI assisted campaigns comply with applicable laws and the platform’s advertising policies in each market where the content is displayed.
The requirements cover synthetic images, videos and audio that have been generated or substantially modified using AI. Where disclosure is required, Microsoft says advertisers should make it clear and place it close to the relevant material.
For visual and audiovisual campaigns, the platform recommends putting the disclosure directly within the image or video rather than depending entirely on information outside the creative. Advertisers can also use Microsoft’s ad disclaimer feature where the format supports it.
However, disclosure does not automatically make an advertisement acceptable. Content may still be rejected, restricted or removed if it involves prohibited deepfakes, falsely represents people or organisations, or uses an individual’s likeness or voice without the required permission.
Microsoft is also warning advertisers not to tamper with machine readable provenance information attached to AI generated material. Such information can include metadata, watermarks and other technical signals indicating how content was produced or altered.
The company said material created with its own AI tools can contain provenance data, metadata and imperceptible watermarks. These signals may not be visible to consumers, meaning their presence does not necessarily remove the need for an explicit disclosure.
The new requirements also place greater emphasis on the review process before AI assisted advertisements are submitted. Marketers are expected to check whether people, products, locations, claims and events represented in their creatives are accurately portrayed.
Advertisers must also consider whether appropriate permission has been obtained when AI tools reproduce or modify a person’s voice or likeness.
The changes come as generative AI becomes more common in advertising production, allowing brands and agencies to create campaign visuals, videos and voice content at greater speed and scale.
For marketers operating across multiple countries, Microsoft is urging closer attention to local legal and disclosure requirements, since rules governing synthetic content and consent can differ between jurisdictions.
The guidance ultimately leaves advertisers responsible for the material they put before consumers. While AI can speed up creative production, Microsoft’s updated approach makes transparency, provenance, accuracy and permission central considerations when deploying synthetic content in advertising.
