On October 22, 2026, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro approved Senate Bill 806, which became Act No. 99 of 2026. Its short title is the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act. The bill passed the Senate 48-2 on June 10, 2026 and the House 163-40 on October 7, 2026, and was presented to the governor on October 21.
The act bars an advertiser from knowingly, recklessly or willfully creating and disseminating an advertisement that uses synthetic content “in a manner that creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised” without a clear and conspicuous disclosure. The disclosure must say the ad contains content modified or generated using AI, must appear the first time the synthetic content is shown, must be in the same medium, and must be, to the extent technically feasible, permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove. Synthetic content is defined as an image, video, audio clip or text significantly modified or generated by AI.
There are exceptions for content that is evidently fictional, for parody, satire, commentary or criticism, and for content limited to text. The attorney general or a district attorney can seek an injunction and bring a civil action, and a court can award a civil fine of up to $3,000 plus attorney fees and court costs. The act takes effect 60 days after enactment.
Why it matters: it is a narrow, consumer-protection-style AI law rather than a broad framework. It targets one concrete harm, AI-faked product claims in advertising, and borrows the “clear and conspicuous” disclosure standard familiar from advertising law. It adds Pennsylvania to the jurisdictions requiring labels on some AI-generated content, alongside Connecticut’s synthetic content provisions and the EU’s Article 50 transparency duties.
What it does not show: the law covers only synthetic content that creates a false perception about the goods or services, not all AI use in advertising, and text-only content is exempt. The fine is small, and no enforcement has taken place yet. This entry relies on the bill text as passed (printer’s number 1808) and the General Assembly’s bill history, not a signing statement.