Using AI Models in Your Holiday Listing Photos? Amazon Now Wants One Small Tag

If your listing photos show a person who was created by AI, Amazon now asks you to say so, with one keyword hidden in the image file. It takes about a minute per batch, it doesn't change how the photo looks, and with Black Friday uploads starting now, this is the week to get it right.

Here's what the rule is, which of your images it covers, and exactly how to add the tag.

What changed

On 22 July 2026, Amazon told sellers that product images, A+ content and product videos showing a photorealistic person generated entirely by AI must carry a disclosure tag before they're uploaded. The rule applies in every Amazon store worldwide, not only the US.

It comes from a New York law on "synthetic performers" in advertising, which took effect on 9 June 2026. Because Amazon shows the same catalog everywhere, it applied the rule to everyone.

Amazon has also said it will show shoppers an indicator on listings that feature AI-generated people, "where applicable". It hasn't published exactly how that label will look.

Which images need the tag

Tag it if the image shows a realistic person that AI created from scratch. For example:

• an AI model wearing your necklace, like the image above
• an AI person holding, using or unboxing your product
• realistic AI hands holding your product
• a real background combined with an AI-generated person

No tag needed for:

• product-only images, even with an AI-made background or scene. That covers most main images, infographics and detail shots.
• real people you photographed, even if AI changed the background, lighting or colours
• cartoons, illustrations and other people who don't look photorealistic
• characters from films, TV and games

So the rule is narrower than "anything made with AI". A product on a marble counter, a festive table or a studio backdrop needs no tag. Only realistic AI people do.

How to add the tag in about a minute

The tag is one keyword, contains-synthetic-performer, written exactly like that (lowercase, with hyphens). It goes into the image's keywords, which Amazon reads when you upload. It doesn't change how the image looks.

Pick whichever way suits you:

1. Windows: right-click the image, then Properties → Details → Tags. Type contains-synthetic-performer and click OK.
2. Adobe Photoshop or Bridge: File → File Info → IPTC Core, and add it under Keywords.
3. Many files at once: the free tool ExifTool does a whole folder in one command:

exiftool -Subject+="contains-synthetic-performer" *.jpg

Then upload as usual. Keep a copy of the tagged files, so re-uploads and A+ updates carry the tag too.

Mac: Finder's own tags are not the same thing. Use Photoshop, Bridge or ExifTool.

What this means for images made with Oranokai

• E-Com Catalog main, feature, detail and dimension cards are product-only, so no tag is needed.
• Lifestyle images with a person, whether from Studio quality, Out of the Box or a catalog lifestyle card, usually show an AI-generated person. Tag those before uploading them to Amazon.
• Virtual Try-On puts a garment onto a photo of a person you supply. If that's a real person you photographed, the rule's exemption for real people edited with AI applies. If the person photo was itself AI-generated, tag it.

Oranokai doesn't add this tag to your downloads automatically yet. Until it does, the minute above is all it takes.

Should you still use AI models?

Yes, where they help, and they often do. A model wearing your earrings or holding your serum shows scale and use far better than a product floating on white. That holds for gift-guide images especially.

Two practical tips:

• Keep your main image product-only. Amazon requires it anyway, and it keeps the tag question away from the image shoppers see first.
• Lead with your product, not the model. Use people in secondary lifestyle images, where they show how the product looks and feels in real life.

Before your Black Friday upload: a 4-point check

1. Sort your new images into product-only and with a person.
2. Tag every AI-person image with contains-synthetic-performer.
3. Make sure your main image is product-only, on white.
4. Re-upload any older listing images that show an AI person, with the tag added.

Need the images themselves? Start with the E-Com Catalog for a full listing set from one phone photo, or Studio quality for single hero and lifestyle shots. New accounts can make one Studio quality image as a one-time try.

This article explains Amazon's published seller guidance as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Check Seller Central for the current wording before you upload.