What did ASCI announce on 8 May 2026?

ASCI published Draft Guidelines for Responsible Labelling of AI-Generated Content in Advertising, aligned with the amended IT Rules and open for public consultation until 13 June 2026.

What are the three risk tiers in ASCI's draft?

The tiers are high risk (banned outright, e.g. deepfakes without consent, fake endorsements, AI doctors), medium risk (permitted but requiring mandatory disclosure, e.g. synthetic influencers, AI product demos), and low risk (exempt, e.g. colour correction, AI-assisted copywriting).

Is the ASCI AI-labelling guideline legally binding?

No, it remains a self-regulatory draft proposal, not a binding code, and compliance depends on industry adoption rather than statutory enforcement.

What content is completely banned under the draft?

Fabricated endorsements or testimonials, AI-generated doctors or authority figures implying medical credibility, exaggerated AI-driven product claims, fake locations presented as real, and non-consensual deepfakes or likeness replication.

What gaps exist outside the ASCI draft?

The article notes unresolved issues including whether AI-generated creative qualifies for Indian copyright protection and how the Digital Personal Data Protection Act's privacy rules will integrate with AI advertising disclosure requirements.

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ASCI Drafts Guidelines for Labelling AI-Generated Ads

Ad Tribe! Bureau15 hours ago2 min read

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has published its Draft Guidelines for Responsible Labelling of AI-Generated Content in Advertising on 8 May 2026, aligned with the amended IT Rules. The draft is open for public consultation until 13 June 2026 and remains a proposal rather than a binding code.

ASCI published draft AI-labelling guidelines for advertising on 8 May 2026
Three-tier, risk-based model: high, medium and low risk
High risk (banned): deepfakes without consent, fake endorsements, AI 'doctors'
Remains a self-regulatory draft, not yet a binding code

ASCI's Three-Tier Risk Model for AI Content

The draft organises AI use in advertising into three tiers based on risk. At the top, certain content is prohibited outright regardless of disclosure: fabricated endorsements or testimonials, AI-generated doctors or authority figures implying medical credibility, exaggerated product claims conveyed through AI visuals, fabricated locations presented as real, and deepfakes or likeness replication used without consent.

Medium-risk content is permitted but requires mandatory disclosure. This category covers synthetic influencers or brand ambassadors, AI-generated product demonstrations, AI-recreated environments or sound, and AI-driven sponsored recommendations. At the lowest tier, routine colour correction, blemish removal, minor lighting adjustments, decorative AI backgrounds or music, and AI-assisted copywriting are exempt from labelling requirements altogether, reflecting an attempt to separate everyday post-production from content capable of misleading consumers.

Institutional Gaps Outside the ASCI Draft

Several unresolved questions sit outside the scope of the labelling framework itself. The guidelines are self-regulatory, meaning compliance depends on industry adoption rather than statutory enforcement. Ownership is also unsettled: AI-generated creative may fall outside Indian copyright protection because AI is not recognised as an author under current law, leaving brands and agencies without clear rights over such assets.

A further gap concerns data protection. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act's privacy layer is not fully integrated with the advertising guidelines, raising questions about how personal data used to train or generate AI content in ads will be governed alongside disclosure requirements. With the consultation window running until 13 June 2026, these structural issues are likely to feature in industry feedback before any final version is adopted.