IAB’s new guidance builds on previously released framework and now includes a two-layer disclosure model.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has updated its AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework.
The IAB’s new guidance builds on previously released framework – launched in January 2026 alongside proprietary research conducted with Sonata Insights – with practical advice for agencies, publishers, platforms, and advertisers on disclosing AI involvement on consumer-facing content.
According to the research, over half of consumers want brands to disclose when an ad was fully AI-generated or used AI imagery or video. And nearly three-quarters (73%) of gen Z and millennials reported that clear disclosure would either increase or have no impact on their likelihood to purchase a product.
Since the trade body published the original framework, regulators in the US, the European Union (EU) and Asia have moved from proposal to enforcement.
Caroline Giegerich, vice president of AI at the IAB said: “Trust is everything between a brand and its customers, and being honest about AI is part of earning it. That said, not every use of AI needs a label — labelling everything teaches consumers to ignore labels and could negatively impact advertisers. This is why we take a meticulously nuanced position in this framework.”
The new recommendations establish a risk-based, two-layer disclosure model, which looks to balance transparency with operational utility. The framework is voluntary, but the IAB’s reputation as a builder of trust does signal to brands and agencies that adopters take disclosure seriously.
The framework outlines a number of scenarios in which an advertiser should disclose use of AI including; using synthetic images in a video, a synthetic voice of a deceased person or fabricated statements from a living person, synthetic avatars, synthetic digital twins of a deceased person or of a living person with fabricated actions, and conversational agents in ads.
The accountability sits with advertisers, as they are responsible for the disclosure of AI. This may come in the form of an applied label, or through encoded meta data.
The two-layer model splits disclosure into the advertising layer and the machine layer. Within the advertising layer, advertisers must use a human reviewer, apply disclosure criteria, determine disclosure, and then apply a consumer-facing label.
Disclosure in the consumer-facing content can be either a clear text label, or the standard sparkle icon – and must be added before distribution.
Within the machine layer, advertisers must use technical infrastructure, embed the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard meta data, record AIB assertions, and implement an audit trail.
David Cohen, chief executive, IAB, added: “Trust is a foundational element which is critical to the growth of AI across the ecosystem. Putting the right transparency and dislosure standards in place benefits everybody: consumers, advertisers, agencies, publishers and platform. This is how collective growth happens.”
Regulatory requirements from the FTC, EU AI Act, and other regional organisations and agreements are fragmented – but the IAB’s framework introduces a consumer-first approach, which doesn’t disadvantage advertisers and agencies, looking to compliment the existing requirements.
