If your product images or A+ content include AI-generated people, Amazon has a new requirement that took effect today, July 23, 2026. Before uploading any image that contains a realistic AI-generated human figure to any Amazon marketplace globally, you must tag that image with specific metadata. If you skip the tag and upload anyway, you're out of compliance with the policy. Amazon isn't currently pulling existing images retroactively, but new uploads as of today are covered.
This is a different requirement from the A+ content AI disclosure policy we covered in June. That one addressed AI-generated text in A+ content. This one is specifically about images and video that contain what Amazon calls a "synthetic performer," meaning a realistic AI-generated human who appears to be a model or person in the image. Real people are not covered, even if AI tools were used to retouch or edit the photo.
What the Rule Requires
The requirement is technical: before uploading an eligible image, you need to use an IPTC-compatible metadata editor to add the keyword contains-synthetic-performer to the dc:subject (XMP) field in the image file. Once you upload an image with that tag, Amazon reads the metadata and, where applicable, adds a disclosure badge on the product detail page to inform buyers that the image includes an AI-generated human figure.
IPTC-compatible editors are widely available. Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop (via the File Info panel), ExifTool, and several free alternatives all support writing to the dc:subject XMP field. The process is the same whether you're tagging a JPEG, PNG, or video file.
Add the keyword to the dc:subject field, save the file, and then upload it to Seller Central or your A+ content module. The metadata travels with the file and Amazon reads it on upload.
Amazon's announcement specifies that the requirement applies globally, meaning all international marketplaces, not just the US. So if you manage listings in the EU, UK, Canada, Mexico, or Japan, the same rule applies across all of them for any images you upload from today forward.
Who Is and Isn't Covered
The rule is narrower than it might sound. It only applies to images and videos that contain realistic AI-generated humans. Amazon lists four categories that don't require the tag: images with only real people (even if AI was used for retouching), images from films, TV, video games, or other expressive works, images with no people at all, and images with stylized or clearly non-realistic figures like cartoons or illustrations.
The practical focus is on a specific type of content that has become extremely common in e-commerce: the AI-generated lifestyle model. Many brands use text-to-image tools to generate photos of people wearing, holding, or using their products because it's faster and cheaper than a traditional photoshoot. If the result looks like a photograph of a real person, the tag is required.
Why This Matters Beyond Compliance
The timing is not coincidental. Amazon's advertising policies already required AI disclosure for ads containing AI-generated realistic people, and recent legislation in several states and at the federal level is moving in the same direction for commercial imagery more broadly. Amazon is extending the disclosure requirement from ads into the core listing experience, which is where most shoppers encounter product photography. The metadata approach is consistent with how the advertising industry has been thinking about disclosure: machine-readable tags that allow platforms to surface disclosures automatically rather than relying on brands to add them manually to each image.
For brands that have already thought carefully about their AI content disclosure practices, adding the XMP tag to your upload workflow is a minor step. For brands that have been using AI-generated lifestyle imagery without much consideration for disclosure requirements, this is a good moment to audit your current listings. Any AI-generated model images already live on your detail pages aren't covered by today's requirement for existing content, but if you update or re-upload those images going forward, they'll need the tag. You can read more about how we approach Amazon listing compliance and content optimization as part of our Amazon brand management work.
The Practical Steps
If you or your creative team uses AI tools to generate model imagery for listings or A+ content, add this to your upload checklist now. Before any image with an AI-generated person goes into Seller Central or A+ Content Manager, open it in an IPTC-compatible editor, add "contains-synthetic-performer" to the dc:subject XMP field, save the file, then upload.
If you're not sure which of your current images qualify, start with your lifestyle photography. Any image where the person in the photo was created by an AI tool (and not by a camera pointed at a real human being) is covered. Product images without people, images of real models photographed on-set, and studio product shots on white background don't need the tag regardless of whether AI was used for retouching.
It's also worth noting that this policy is part of a broader pattern: AI disclosure requirements are expanding across every major platform, from social media to search to marketplaces. The brands that build disclosure compliance into their creative workflows now will have significantly less cleanup to do when the requirements inevitably broaden. If you want to talk through what your current AI image use looks like against today's requirements, or how to structure a compliant AI-assisted creative workflow, schedule a call and we'll work through it with you.