Marketing and creative agencies

Know what to label, and what you do not have to.

Agencies use more AI than almost anyone, and clients are asking about it. The EU AI Act rule is narrower than most people think: realistic AI images, video and voice need a label, ordinary AI-written copy does not. Normis tells you which is which, gives you the wording, and keeps a record you can show a client.

Trusted foundationsEvery rule cites the ActBuilt in IrelandEU data resident, encrypted

What needs a label

Four everyday agency jobs, four answers.

These duties have applied since 2 August 2026. The Digital Omnibus moved other deadlines, but not these.

Label itArticle 50 · since 2 Aug 2026

Realistic AI images, video or voice.

A synthetic spokesperson, a cloned voice in an advert, or a realistic “photo” of a person, place or event that never happened is a deep fake and needs a clear label. The final Commission guidance says most advertising does not get the lighter treatment given to artistic work. Clearly stylised or illustrative images do not need one.

No labelArticle 4

AI-written copy, social posts and product descriptions.

Ordinary marketing copy that AI drafts and a person publishes does not need a label. It goes on your register, under the general expectation to support your team's AI literacy.

Label itArticle 50 · since 2 Aug 2026

AI-written articles on public-interest topics.

Content written to inform the public on tax, health, legal or public matters, such as a client's guidance blog, needs a label if AI wrote it, unless a named person genuinely edits it and takes responsibility. A quick sign-off does not count.

Tell peopleArticle 50 · since 2 Aug 2026

Chatbots on your site or a client's.

Anyone talking to a chatbot must be told it is AI at the first interaction. In practice the duty sits with whoever presents the bot as theirs, so check the notice is there on your own site and on the ones you launch.

See chatbot disclosures
The difference

Label the right things, and prove you did.

With Normis

A clear rule and a record per asset

  • Know which work needs a label and which does not
  • Paste-ready wording for each case
  • A dated record with a screenshot of each label live
Without it

Guesswork, campaign by campaign

  • Labels on everything, or on nothing
  • Wording reinvented for every client
  • No proof when a client asks what you did

How Normis helps

Label it, set the rules, keep the proof.

Normis for agencies
Label

The right label, in one line you can paste.

Ready-made wording for synthetic media, AI-written articles and chatbots, each clear enough to meet the Act and short enough to fit a caption.

Synthetic media label · template
Label text

“This image, audio or video has been artificially generated or manipulated using AI.”

Art. 50(4)Shown where the content appears
Transparency register
AssetLabelProofLogged
Spring ad, AI voiceoverSynthetic mediaScreenshot3 Sep 2026
Product shots, AI scenesSynthetic mediaScreenshot9 Sep 2026
Client tax explainerAI-written textScreenshot15 Sep 2026

Set the rules

Keep client work out of the wrong tools.

Publish an AI use policy that lists the tools your team may use and what must never go into them, then get everyone to acknowledge it.

AI register · studio
ToolUseRisk
ElevenLabsAdvert voiceoversLimited
MidjourneyCampaign imageryLimited
ChatGPTSocial copy draftsMinimal
Canva Magic StudioIllustrative graphicsMinimal

Prove

Answer the client's AI questions in one go.

Bigger clients now ask agencies how they use AI. Your register, policy sign-offs and labels come out as one sealed, dated evidence pack.

Evidence pack · contents
  • Cover summary - scope, counts, sealPDF
  • AI registerCSV
  • Risk classifications + reasoningCSV
  • Policy + attestation listPDF
  • Transparency disclosuresCSV

Client sent you an AI questionnaire? See how to answer it.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to label everything AI helped make?

No. Ordinary marketing copy, social posts and product descriptions that AI drafts and a person publishes need no label. The label duty covers realistic synthetic media (deep fakes), AI-written text published to inform the public on matters of public interest without genuine human editing, and chatbots. Clearly stylised or illustrative images do not need one either.

Who applies the label, us or the client?

Article 50 puts the label duty on the business that uses the AI tool to create the content and puts it out. In agency work that is often shared, so agree in the brief who applies the label, and keep a record that it was applied. Normis gives you the record either way.

Is a cloned voice in a radio or video advert a deep fake?

If it would sound authentic to a listener and resembles a real person, yes, and it needs a clear label. The final Commission guidance treats digital replicas of real people as deep fakes and says most advertising does not qualify for the lighter treatment given to artistic or satirical work.

What about invisible watermarks?

Machine-readable marking of AI output is mainly a duty for the companies that make the AI tools, not for you. For tools already on the market before 2 August 2026 they have until 2 December 2026. Normis includes a short checklist so you can confirm your tools do it.

Is this legal advice?

No. Normis gives you plain-English guidance, label templates and a record-keeping system, with the article reference kept next to every answer. It is not a substitute for legal advice on a complex or high-stakes case.

Find out where you stand in eight minutes.

The classifier is free, no signup, no card. List the tools your studio uses and see exactly which work needs a label.