Amazon Now Requires Sellers to Tag AI-Generated People in Listings and A+ Content

TL;DR

• Since late July 2026, Amazon requires sellers to tag images and videos that contain photorealistic AI-generated people before adding them to listings or A+ Content in any of its worldwide stores.
• The tag is the keyword contains-synthetic-performer, added to the file's dc:subject (XMP) field with an IPTC-compatible metadata editor. On a Mac that's Preview; on Windows it's the Tags field in File Explorer.
• No tag is needed for real people (even if AI edited them), characters from movies, TV or games, images with no people, or people who aren't photorealistic.
• Amazon's own tools handle it for you: Creative Studio and A+ GenAI tag automatically. Files from outside tools, or downloaded from Amazon's tools and uploaded again, need the tag.
• Amazon calls the disclosure mandatory. For images already live, it says you can apply it retroactively, but it hasn't set a deadline.

Amazon is introducing a new disclosure requirement for sellers using AI-generated people in product imagery.

Sellers must now add specific metadata to images and videos containing photorealistic AI-generated people before uploading them to listings and A+ Content across Amazon's worldwide stores.

The change means sellers using AI-generated models for lifestyle images, product demonstrations, or other marketing content now have an additional compliance step to complete before publishing that content.

What Exactly Changed?

Amazon says sellers must use an IPTC-compatible metadata editor to add the keyword:

contains-synthetic-performer

to the dc:subject (XMP) field of the image or video file.

Once the metadata is included, Amazon says it will add an indicator informing customers that the image contains AI-generated people, where applicable.

This applies to photorealistic AI-generated people used in product images and A+ Content.

Amazon has since spelled out the full scope. In the announcement thread, it says the policy covers all media sellers upload: main and alternate listing images, product videos, A+ Content, and Brand Store images and videos.

Why Amazon Is Doing This Now

Amazon's announcement gives the reason in one line: recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people. Its help page says the tag is there "to comply with jurisdictions that require disclosure of AI-generated people in product media."

Amazon doesn't name a law, but the timing and the wording match New York's synthetic performer law (General Business Law § 396-b), which took effect on June 9, 2026. It requires anyone who creates an ad to conspicuously disclose a synthetic performer they know is in it, with civil penalties of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after that. The law puts that duty on the advertiser, not on the platform that shows the ad, which helps explain why Amazon asks sellers to flag their own files.

This isn't legal advice. If AI-generated people are a big part of your creative, check with your counsel on what applies to you.

What Content Needs to Be Tagged?

The requirement applies when your image or video contains a photorealistic person generated by AI.

For example, sellers should be aware of this requirement when using AI-generated models to:

• Show a person wearing or using a product
• Create lifestyle product photography
• Demonstrate how a product is used
• Create realistic people for A+ Content
• Produce other photorealistic marketing imagery featuring AI-generated people

Amazon specifically says the requirement applies to product images and videos added to listings and A+ Content.

Partial people count too. In the announcement thread, a seller asked about an AI-generated watch photo that shows only a forearm and hand. Amazon's answer: if the arm is AI-generated, the requirement applies.

What Doesn't Need the AI-Person Metadata?

Not every image created or edited with AI needs the new tag.

Amazon says the metadata is not required when the media:

• Features only real people, even if AI tools were used to alter them
• Features characters from movies, TV, streaming content, documentaries, video games, or other expressive works
• Contains no people
• Contains people who are not photorealistic

That distinction is important: using AI to edit an image is not automatically the same as creating an AI-generated person.

Amazon's moderators confirmed one common case: an AI-generated background behind a real person, or behind a product with no person in it, doesn't need the tag.

Which AI Tool You Used Decides What You Have to Do

Where the image was made matters as much as what's in it. Amazon's answers in the announcement thread break it down like this:

The download case is the easy one to miss. If your designer generates a model in Amazon's tools, downloads the file to retouch it, and uploads the edit, Amazon treats it like any outside file.

How Do Sellers Add the Tag?

The process happens before uploading the media to Amazon.

Step 1: Prepare Your Image or Video

Identify any listing or A+ media containing photorealistic AI-generated people.

Step 2: Open the File in an IPTC-Compatible Metadata Editor

Amazon requires the metadata to be embedded directly into the media file.

Step 3: Add the Required Keyword

Add:

contains-synthetic-performer

to the file's dc:subject (XMP) field.

Step 4: Upload the Tagged File

The file can then be added to the relevant listing or A+ Content.

Amazon says the metadata allows its systems to identify the content and display an appropriate customer-facing indicator.

Adding the Tag on Mac, Windows, or in Bulk

You don't need special software. Amazon's help page walks through the tools most sellers already have.

On a Mac (Preview)

1. Open the image in Preview.
2. Press Cmd+I (or choose Tools, then Show Inspector).
3. Click the Keywords tab. It shows "No Keywords" at first.
4. Click the + button, type contains-synthetic-performer and press Enter.

On Windows (File Explorer)

1. Right-click the file and select Properties.
2. Open the Details tab.
3. Under Description, type contains-synthetic-performer into the Tags field.
4. Leave the Subject field alone, and select OK.

Watch that last step. Amazon notes that Subject and Tags write to different places in the file. Only Tags puts the keyword where Amazon looks.

In Bulk or for Video (exiftool)

For a whole folder, or for video files, Amazon's help page uses the free command line tool exiftool:

• One file: exiftool -XMP-dc:Subject+=contains-synthetic-performer image.png
• Every PNG in a folder: exiftool -XMP-dc:Subject+=contains-synthetic-performer *.png
• Check a file: exiftool -G1 image.png | grep Subject should show [XMP-dc] Subject: contains-synthetic-performer

The += adds the keyword without wiping existing ones. Run it twice and you get the keyword twice. Amazon says duplicates don't break anything, but there's no reason to add them.

Check the File You Actually Upload

Tag the final file, after the last edit and export, then check it. Amazon's last step is to verify the keyword is in the XMP dc:subject field with any tool that shows it. That check matters more than it sounds: once you upload, you can't confirm it from Amazon's side (more on that below).

What About Existing AI-Generated Images?

This is one area where sellers should be careful.

Amazon's announcement establishes the tagging requirement, but the announcement itself does not clearly explain whether sellers must immediately go back and retag every existing image already live on Amazon.

Sellers in the discussion have specifically asked Amazon whether previously uploaded media needs to be updated and how sellers should handle large libraries of existing AI-generated imagery. Amazon acknowledged those questions and said it was working with the relevant teams to provide answers.

Since then, Amazon's replies have gone only part of the way. In one answer it says "this disclosure is mandatory"; for content already live, it says that if you would like to apply the disclosure retroactively, you can follow the steps on its help page. It hasn't said whether older images must be retagged, or by when.

So, for now, sellers shouldn't assume that every historical image must immediately be replaced based solely on this announcement.

For new uploads, however, the safest approach is to build the metadata step into your content workflow.

You Can't Check the Tag After Upload

One more gap to know about. Amazon's Seller Central doesn't show whether it detected your tag. Sellers in the thread report that live listing images, downloaded back from Amazon, no longer carry the XMP tag, since Amazon processes images after upload. Amazon says its team is looking into a way to confirm detection but hasn't given a date.

Even a correctly tagged file may not show a label to every shopper. Amazon says whether the disclosure appears may depend on where the content is used and where the person viewing it is located.

Until Amazon adds a check, your own records are your proof. Keep the tagged master files, and note which ASINs and A+ modules use AI-generated people.

This Is Especially Important for Sellers Using AI-Generated Models

AI-generated lifestyle photography has become increasingly common among Amazon sellers.

Instead of hiring models and organizing traditional photoshoots, sellers can generate images showing a person wearing clothing, using a beauty product, holding a household item, or interacting with a product.

The new requirement doesn't prohibit this type of content.

Instead, Amazon is requiring sellers to identify photorealistic AI-generated people through metadata so Amazon can disclose that information to customers.

That makes this more of a transparency and compliance requirement than a restriction on using AI-generated models.

What Sellers Should Do Now

If your team regularly uses AI-generated imagery, this is a good time to update your content-production process.

1. Audit Your AI-Generated Lifestyle Images

Look through your existing listing and A+ assets and identify which ones contain photorealistic AI-generated people. Our listing audit checklist is a good place to track it ASIN by ASIN.

2. Add Metadata to New AI-Generated Media

Don't wait until upload to figure this out. Make the contains-synthetic-performer tag part of your production checklist.

3. Separate AI-Generated People From Other AI Content

An AI-generated background without a person isn't automatically subject to this requirement.

Likewise, Amazon says real people who have simply been altered with AI don't require this specific metadata.

4. Keep an Eye on Amazon's Clarification

Amazon sellers have already raised questions about existing images, partially visible AI-generated people, and how the new requirement interacts with existing A+ AI-content disclosures. Amazon has acknowledged those questions, so additional guidance may follow.

Amazon has since answered two of them: partially visible AI-generated people need the tag, and for A+ Content the "AI-generated people" checkbox in Creative Assets works in place of the tag. The question about existing images is still only partly answered.

What This Means for Amazon Sellers

The bigger takeaway is that AI-generated content is becoming part of Amazon's formal content-compliance framework.

Amazon isn't saying sellers can't use AI-generated people. But if you're using photorealistic AI models in your product marketing, you now need to account for disclosure requirements when preparing the media.

For sellers and agencies producing large volumes of AI-generated creative, the practical change is simple:

AI image generation → metadata tagging → Amazon upload

That metadata step should now be part of the workflow.

FAQ

What is the contains-synthetic-performer tag on Amazon?

It's the keyword Amazon requires in the XMP dc:subject field of any image or video that contains photorealistic AI-generated people. Amazon reads it and adds a disclosure for customers where applicable.

Do I need to tag images where AI only edited a real person?

No. Amazon says media that only features real people doesn't need the tag, even if AI tools altered them.

Does an AI-generated background need the tag?

No, as long as the people in the image are real or there are no people. The tag is only for photorealistic people generated by AI.

Does the tag apply if only part of an AI-generated person is visible?

Yes. Amazon said an AI-generated arm in a watch photo falls under the requirement.

How do I add the tag on a Mac?

Open the file in Preview, press Cmd+I, open the Keywords tab, click +, and add contains-synthetic-performer.

How do I add the tag on Windows?

Right-click the file, select Properties, open Details, and type contains-synthetic-performer in the Tags field. Leave the Subject field unchanged.

Do I need to tag images made with Amazon's own AI tools?

Not if they stay in Amazon's tools. Amazon says Creative Studio and A+ GenAI tag images automatically, and Amazon Ads content kept in the Advertising Console needs no action. If you download it and upload it again, you need to tag it.

Can I use the A+ Content checkbox instead of the metadata tag?

Yes, for A+ Content. Amazon says you can either add the tag yourself or check "AI-generated people" when you upload the image to Creative Assets in A+ Content Manager.

Do I have to retag images that are already live?

Amazon calls the disclosure mandatory and says you can apply it retroactively by following its help page. It hasn't said whether that's required for older images, or set a deadline.

How do I know Amazon detected my tag?

Right now you can't. Seller Central doesn't confirm it, and Amazon says its team is working on it. Verify the tag in the file before upload and keep the tagged originals.

The Bottom Line

If your Amazon listings or A+ Content use photorealistic AI-generated people, don't treat the images like ordinary creative assets anymore.

Before uploading them, add the required contains-synthetic-performer keyword to the file's XMP metadata using an IPTC-compatible editor. Amazon says this allows it to identify the AI-generated person and provide an appropriate customer-facing disclosure.

For sellers already relying heavily on AI-generated lifestyle photography, now is the time to audit your workflow and make metadata tagging part of the process.

If you'd rather have a team build that step into your image and A+ production, see our creative services.

Sources

• You must now tag AI-generated people in listings and A+ content (Amazon Seller Central announcement and replies)
• How to tag media that contains an AI-generated person (Amazon Seller Central help)
• Product image guide: AI-generated people disclosure (Amazon Seller Central help)
• Do Previously Uploaded AI-Generated People Images Need Retroactive Tagging? (Amazon Seller Forums, Amazon reply)
• New York Enacts 'Synthetic Performer' Disclosure Law for Advertisements (Cooley)