New to this? Read it in simple words
- Pennsylvania signed a law on October 22 about AI content in ads.
- If AI content could mislead buyers about a product, the ad must say it contains AI content.
- Text-only content, parody and plain fiction are left out.
- The law starts in 60 days, and fines go up to $3,000.
- Synthetic content
- An image, video, audio clip or text that AI has made or significantly changed.
- Disclosure
- A clear notice that tells people a fact they should know, here that an ad contains AI content.
- District attorney
- A public prosecutor for one county in a US state.
Pictures, videos and voices made by AI now appear in many ads, from restaurant menus to TV spots. On Thursday, October 22, Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, signed Senate Bill 806 into law as Act 99 of 2026. Its short name is the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act.
What the law asks for
Advertisers may not knowingly, recklessly or willfully spread ads that use AI content to give a false picture of what they sell. The only way out is a clear label. The label must state that the ad contains content modified or generated using AI.
The law calls this “synthetic content”: an image, video, audio clip or text that AI has significantly changed or made. The label must appear the first time the content is shown, in the same medium. Where technically possible, it must be permanent or very hard to remove.
Three kinds of content are left out: content that is plainly fiction, parody, satire, commentary or criticism, and content that is only text. So an AI-written ad with no AI images, video or sound needs no label.
From the signed text of Pennsylvania’s Senate Bill 806.
How it is enforced
The state Attorney General or a district attorney can take an advertiser to court. A court can order a civil fine of up to $3,000, plus legal fees and court costs. The law takes effect 60 days after signing, which by our count is December 21, 2026.
The law passed the state Senate 48 to 2 in June and the House 163 to 40 on October 7, without changes.
The bill’s sponsor, state Senator Nick Pisciottano, told CBS Pittsburgh that penalties fall on AI companies, not on individual users. The signed text says otherwise: it applies to advertisers. He also said the law covers ads shown in Pennsylvania that were made elsewhere, and that it does not cover political ads.
Why now
Pisciottano says groups for older people told lawmakers that fake AI ads were helping scammers. “Consumers deserve to know if AI is being used to create a false impression about a product or service,” he said in a statement quoted by MediaPost.
The tech industry group NetChoice opposed the bill, MediaPost reports. It argued that existing laws already ban deceptive ads, and that the label rules could overwhelm short videos and small ads.
The Altoona Mirror says Pennsylvania is the third state with such a rule, after New York and California. Shapiro called the law an important step and said more “real guardrails” on AI are needed, WPXI reports.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
- 1Primary source · October 22, 2026Senate Bill 806; Regular Session 2025-2026 (bill history: Act No. 99 of 2026) Pennsylvania General Assembly
- 2Primary source · June 10, 2026Senate Bill 806, Printer’s No. 1808: Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act (final text) Pennsylvania General Assembly
- 3Research · October 22, 2026Pennsylvania one of the first states to require disclosures on AI-generated ads CBS News Pittsburgh
- 4Research · October 22, 2026Law requiring advertisers to disclose when they are using AI passes in Pennsylvania WPXI (via Yahoo News)
- 5Research · October 8, 2026Pennsylvania Passes Bill Requiring Disclosure Of Misleading AI In Ads MediaPost
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The rules, fine and exceptions come from the signed text. Where the sponsor’s description differs from the text, as on who pays the fines, the story follows the text; the start date is our own count of the 60 days.
Pennsylvania law requires labels on misleading AI ads. Silicon AI News, October 24, 2026. https://siliconainews.com/stories/pennsylvania-ai-deceptive-advertising-act
Pennsylvania’s new law protects buyers with clear labels on misleading AI ads, without banning AI, though fines and industry opposition add friction. How we rate the mood
The mood shows how the news frames the event for the tech and AI world: as an opportunity (6 and above) or as a loss (below 5). It is not our verdict on who is right.