Microsoft is tightening AI ad transparency, requiring advertisers to disclose synthetic content, and preserve provenance data
Microsoft Advertising is putting advertisers on notice: If AI helped create or materially alter your ad, consumers may need to know about it.
AI-generated creative is becoming routine in advertising, but Microsoft is making clear that using AI doesn’t give marketers a pass on transparency, consent or deceptive content.
Driving the news. Microsoft Advertising has published dedicated guidance covering AI-generated, AI-manipulated and other synthetic content used in ads.
Advertisers are responsible for complying with applicable laws wherever their campaigns run, including requirements around disclosures, permissions and the use of a person’s likeness or voice.
The details. Microsoft says advertisers should preserve watermarks, metadata and other provenance information identifying how AI-generated content was created.
When disclosure is required, advertisers are responsible for making it clear and placing it close to the relevant content. Microsoft recommends embedding AI disclosures directly into image and video assets.
Its existing ad disclaimer feature can also be used with supported formats.
Yes, but. Slapping an “AI-generated” label on deceptive creative won’t make it acceptable.
Microsoft says ads can still be rejected, restricted or removed if they contain prohibited deepfakes, impersonate people or organizations, use someone’s likeness or voice without required authorization, omit required disclosures, or interfere with machine-readable provenance information.
How Microsoft is handling its own AI. Images, audio and video produced using Microsoft AI tools can contain machine-readable provenance data, metadata and imperceptible watermarks indicating AI involvement.
Those signals aren’t necessarily visible to consumers, meaning advertisers may still need to add their own visible or audible disclosures.
What advertisers should do. Review AI-assisted creative before submitting it and make sure the people, products, places, claims and events depicted are accurate.
Advertisers should also avoid stripping metadata or watermarks from AI assets and check disclosure requirements in every market where a campaign will appear.
The bottom line. Microsoft isn’t banning AI advertising. It’s drawing a clearer line between using AI to make an ad and using AI to mislead the person seeing it.
Dig deeper.AI-generated and synthetic content in advertising
Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
About the Author
Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Landsince 2024. She coverspaid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu started her career delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host ofweekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.
${fullHTML}
`;
const collapseEl = document.getElementById(collapseId);
const truncatedWrap = bioEl.querySelector(‘.authorTruncatedBio’);
const lessLink = bioEl.querySelector(‘.authorReadLessLink’);
// If Bootstrap’s Collapse is available, wire it up. Otherwise, a tiny fallback.
const hasBootstrap = typeof bootstrap !== ‘undefined’ && bootstrap.Collapse;
if (hasBootstrap) {
collapseEl.addEventListener(‘show.bs.collapse’, () => {
truncatedWrap.classList.add(‘d-none’);
});
collapseEl.addEventListener(‘hide.bs.collapse’, () => {
truncatedWrap.classList.remove(‘d-none’);
});
collapseEl.addEventListener(‘shown.bs.collapse’, () => {
if (lessLink) {
lessLink.onclick = (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
bootstrap.Collapse.getOrCreateInstance(collapseEl).hide();
};
}
});
} else {
// Minimal JS fallback if Bootstrap isn’t present
const moreLink = bioEl.querySelector(‘.authorReadMoreLink’);
moreLink.addEventListener(‘click’, (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
collapseEl.style.display = ‘block’;
truncatedWrap.style.display = ‘none’;
});
if (lessLink) {
lessLink.addEventListener(‘click’, (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
collapseEl.style.display = ‘none’;
truncatedWrap.style.display = ”;
});
}
}
}
// Initialize all author bio blocks on the page (supports multiple posts/cards)
document.querySelectorAll(‘[id^=”authorBio”]’).forEach(initAuthorBio);
})();
