Do AI images without people need a label on Amazon?

Amazon’s tagging rule covers photorealistic AI-generated people only. As of September 24, 2026, Amazon’s image pages set no labeling step for AI images without people. The accuracy rules still apply to every image.

What happens if I skip the AI people tag?

Amazon’s pages do not name a specific penalty for a missing tag. Images that break the product image requirements can be removed, and a listing with no compliant main image can be hidden from search. Laws such as New York’s carry their own fines for undisclosed synthetic performers in ads.

Do other marketplaces ask for a tag like Amazon’s?

Not this one. As of September 24, 2026, contains-synthetic-performer is Amazon’s own keyword. Google Merchant Center asks you to keep IPTC AI metadata on every AI image and offers an optional AI label. TikTok asks creators to disclose AI in posted videos and LIVE streams. Etsy asks sellers to disclose items made with AI in the listing, and Walmart sets accuracy rules; neither asks for a metadata tag.

Can you use AI-generated images on Amazon?

Checked September 24, 20267 min read

Short answer

Yes. Amazon’s image rules do not ban AI-generated images, but every image must accurately show the product the customer receives, and the main image must still be a realistic product shot on pure white. Since July 23, 2026, any image or video with a photorealistic AI-generated person must carry the metadata keyword contains-synthetic-performer before upload. AI is safest for scenes around a real product and riskiest wherever it redraws the product itself, above all in the main image.

What Amazon’s rules say about AI images

As of September 24, 2026, Amazon’s product image guide names AI in one rule, the tag for AI-generated people covered below. The rest of its rules apply to an AI image the same way they apply to a photo:

Every image must accurately show the product you sell and match the product title.
The main image must be a "realistic, professional-quality image" that shows the product’s real scale, quantity and color.
Clothing main images must be photos. Sketches, drawings and graphic representations are not allowed.
Product information must be accurate and must not mislead customers about the product’s qualities or characteristics.
A change in color, size, material or features makes a new product, which needs its own listing rather than new images on the old one.

The full list of sizes and main image rules is in Amazon product image requirements. Amazon also makes AI images itself. Its ad console has a free image generator, in Creative Studio, that turns your product details into lifestyle and seasonal ad images, in 15 countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia.

The tag for AI-generated people

On July 23, 2026, Amazon told sellers that product images and videos showing photorealistic AI-generated people must be tagged before they go into listings or A+ Content, in all of its stores. Its image guide now says that for such an image, "you must tag that image with the appropriate metadata before uploading it." Its notice cites recent laws that require disclosure of AI-generated people in ads. New York’s synthetic performer law, in force since June 9, 2026, is one of them. It covers ads showing an AI-made person who is not recognizable as any real performer, with fines of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after.

Your image or video shows	Tag it?
A photorealistic person generated entirely by AI	Yes
A real model, retouched or changed with AI tools	No
A person who is clearly drawn, animated or otherwise not photorealistic	No
A character from a film, TV show, game or other creative work, such as poster art	No
No people at all	No

From Amazon’s product image guide and its July 23, 2026 seller notice.

Amazon’s pages do not cover partial people, such as an AI-generated hand holding the product. If a realistic AI-generated person, or part of one, is in the frame, tagging is the cautious choice. To add the tag:

On a Mac, open the file in Preview, press Cmd+I, open the Keywords tab, click +, type contains-synthetic-performer and press Enter.
On Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, then Details, and type contains-synthetic-performer in the Tags field. Leave the Subject field alone, because it writes to a different place.
From the command line, exiftool -XMP-dc:Subject+=contains-synthetic-performer photo.jpg adds the keyword and keeps any existing ones. Running it twice adds the keyword twice.
In A+ Content Manager, you can instead tick "AI-generated people" when you upload the image to Creative Assets, and Amazon adds the metadata for you.
Before upload, open the tagged file in a metadata viewer and confirm the keyword sits in the XMP dc:subject field.

Amazon then shows shoppers a disclosure where one applies. A seller in Amazon’s forums reports that listing images get reprocessed, that the live copies no longer carry the tag, and that Seller Central shows no confirmation. Keep your tagged originals and a list of which files contain AI people. For images uploaded before July 23, an Amazon moderator replied in the forums that the disclosure is mandatory and that older images can be tagged with the same steps. No deadline for older images appears in Amazon’s notice or help pages.

Where AI images are safe and where they are risky

Risk here means the chance an image breaks Amazon’s accuracy rules or leads to returns. The ratings follow from Amazon’s written rules; Amazon does not publish a ranking of its own.

Image	Risk	Why
Real product photo with the background replaced by pure white	Low	The product itself comes from a photo. Check the edges for halos and the color against the real item.
Main image rendered by AI from your reference photos	Medium	Allowed if realistic and exact. Any change to shape, color, label or count breaks the accuracy rule, and a main image that shows a different product can trigger upload error 990003.
Main image of a product the model made up from a description	High	It shows something the customer will not receive.
Lifestyle scenes in the other image slots	Low to medium	The scene can be invented; the product in it cannot. Its size next to hands, furniture or people must match the real dimensions.
A photorealistic AI model wearing or holding the product	Medium	Needs the contains-synthetic-performer tag, and fit and drape must match the real garment.
Detail and feature images with callouts	Low to medium	Every number and claim must be true. Reviews, star ratings and "free shipping" are banned in every image.
Before-and-after or results images	High	A generated "after" is a claim about results. See FTC rules for AI product images.
A+ Content and Brand Story images	Medium	The same accuracy rules apply, plus the AI people tag or checkbox.

A safe working rule on Amazon is to let AI make the scene and never the product. Why AI changes your product covers the usual drift in labels, logos and proportions, and the QA checklist for AI images covers the checks before anything goes live.

What an inaccurate AI image costs

Amazon’s image guide names fewer returns from mismatched expectations as one reason accurate images matter, and its refund rules put a price on the mismatch. Under the A-to-z Guarantee, when an item from a third-party seller arrives "materially different" from what the customer ordered, the refund covers the product, the original shipping and the return shipping. For most other return reasons, the customer gets the product cost back but not the shipping. A main image that breaks the rules can also get the listing hidden from search until you upload a compliant one.

How to use AI on Amazon without breaking the rules

Photograph the real product first: front, back, sides, label and a shot that shows scale. Every later render starts from these.
Build the main image from a real packshot on pure white where you can. If you render it, compare shape, color, label text and count with the physical product at 100% zoom.
Use AI for scenes and backgrounds in the other image slots, and keep props from looking like part of the purchase.
Tag every image and video with a photorealistic AI person before upload, and keep a list of those files.
Hold each render next to the real product in daylight before upload, and have someone who knows the product sign off.
Keep the prompt, the model and the reference images behind each AI image, so you can answer a policy question or a complaint later.

How other marketplaces treat AI images

Marketplace	AI rule as of September 2026
Etsy	Listing photos must be your own photographs, not stock photos or artistic renderings. Items made with AI must be disclosed in the listing.
Walmart	AI-generated images must be truthful, accurate and not misleading. Stock photos are not allowed.
Google Merchant Center	AI images must keep their AI metadata, such as the IPTC value TrainedAlgorithmicMedia. An optional AI label setting is available.
TikTok Shop, US	AI images are allowed when they match the real product. A policy dated September 24, 2026 lists banned edits, such as changing size, color or quantity.

Each platform’s own pages, checked September 24, 2026.

Questions people also ask

Do AI images without people need a label on Amazon?: Amazon’s tagging rule covers photorealistic AI-generated people only. As of September 24, 2026, Amazon’s image pages set no labeling step for AI images without people. The accuracy rules still apply to every image.
What happens if I skip the AI people tag?: Amazon’s pages do not name a specific penalty for a missing tag. Images that break the product image requirements can be removed, and a listing with no compliant main image can be hidden from search. Laws such as New York’s carry their own fines for undisclosed synthetic performers in ads.
Do other marketplaces ask for a tag like Amazon’s?: Not this one. As of September 24, 2026, contains-synthetic-performer is Amazon’s own keyword. Google Merchant Center asks you to keep IPTC AI metadata on every AI image and offers an optional AI label. TikTok asks creators to disclose AI in posted videos and LIVE streams. Etsy asks sellers to disclose items made with AI in the listing, and Walmart sets accuracy rules; neither asks for a metadata tag.

Where Overs fits

Overs exports each campaign with a record of the prompt, model and reference pictures behind every photo, so you can list which files show an AI-generated person. For worn or held products it casts one approved model from a character sheet, so plan to tag every photo that shows that model. Overs does not upload to Amazon; tag the files before you upload them.

Free for 40 photos a month. The AI that makes the photos is billed separately, on your own key, with no markup from Overs.

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Sources

Checked on September 24, 2026. Prices, specs and rules change; follow the links for the current versions.