Countdown to Amazon's new AI regulations; non-compliance will face penalties

Author: Hugo Cross-border

Image source | Unsplash

In 2026, the cross-border e-commerce industry will usher in the era of AI compliance. Following the implementation of New York State's "Synthetic Performer Disclosure Law" in June and the official rollout of the EU's "Artificial Intelligence Act" on August 2, Amazon has pushed policy updates to global sellers: starting from August 15, 2026, all product materials generated or assisted by AI tools on the platform must be actively labeled in the backend.

According to Amazon's latest announcement and seller help page, the mandatory labeling scope includes:

• AI-generated realistic characters included in product listing images (main images, secondary images);
• AI-generated real model images in A+ pages and brand flagship stores;
• AI-generated real human images, voice-over characters, and buyer show characters appearing in product videos;
• AI-generated partial human images (such as hands wearing rings, arms showcasing skincare products, shoulders displaying clothing effects, etc.)—the complete face is not the judgment standard; as long as body parts are presented and generated by AI, labeling is required.

Many sellers believe that checking the "AI-generated content declaration" when uploading A+ content is sufficient. According to official explanations, sellers can choose one of two labeling paths: if the declaration is completed through the AI marking option in the A+ Content Manager, there is no need to add metadata tags separately. However, if images are directly used for main images, secondary images, or uploaded through other channels, the specified keywords must be written in the file metadata.

With only one week remaining until August 15, it is recommended that sellers immediately initiate the following actions:

Step 1: Comprehensive Inventory of Materials

Export images and video assets of all active ASINs, and categorize them based on three dimensions: "whether they contain human images," "whether the human images are AI-generated," and "whether the source files exist."

Step 2: Bucket Processing

Real photography with no AI characters → No action needed;

Materials containing AI-generated real humans with source files → Use a compatible IPTC metadata editor (such as ExifTool or PixPix) to batch write tags;

Materials containing AI-generated real humans but missing source files → Assess whether to re-render or switch to real photography;

Confirm that materials containing AI characters that are no longer needed → Take down or replace.

Step 3: Establish Upload Gate Mechanism

Incorporate "XMP metadata check" into the handover process between design and operations to ensure that new uploaded materials have completed compliance labeling before going live.

Step 4: Monitor Account Status Page

Closely monitor the backend "Account Status → Product Compliance and Authenticity" for any warnings such as "Synthetic performer metadata missing." Amazon's policy this time is not an isolated case. TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and Pinterest have all launched AI-generated content platform-level labels; California requires large AI service providers to embed digital watermarks in generated content; the EU AI Act entered the enforcement phase on August 2, and promoting with AI virtual influencers will face tiered fines.

With less than ten days until August 15, time is tight. Sellers need to quickly complete the inventory material review and establish new processes to continue leveraging the efficiency advantages of AI within a compliance framework, rather than losing big due to small mistakes and crossing this red line.

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