AI-generated advertising is fundamentally changing marketing. Whether advertising copy, product images, videos, or chatbots, artificial intelligence enables companies to create marketing materials faster and more cost-effectively than ever before. At the same time, however, new legal risks are emerging. AI-generated advertising is also subject to the requirements of unfair competition law, copyright law, and increasingly the requirements of the European AI Act.
Many companies, start-ups, and other advertisers assume that responsibility lies with the provider of the AI system they use. In practice, however, the advertising company itself is generally responsible for ensuring that its advertising is legally compliant. Violations can result in costly cease-and-desist letters, injunction claims, or claims for damages.
This article explains the key legal issues surrounding AI-generated advertising under German and European unfair competition law and highlights the risks companies should be aware of.
AI Advertising Is Not a Special Legal Case
Even when advertising content is created entirely by artificial intelligence, the same basic standards under unfair competition law generally apply as they do to conventional advertising. In particular, the provisions of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) are relevant. Advertising must not mislead consumers, contain prohibited commercial practices, or unfairly disadvantage competitors.
From a legal perspective, AI is merely a tool. The fact that texts, images, or videos have been generated automatically does not release companies from their obligation to carefully review all advertising claims before publication. Modern language models in particular can produce highly convincing statements that may nevertheless be factually inaccurate or legally problematic.
With the entry into force of the European AI Act, additional transparency and disclosure requirements also apply. Companies must therefore comply with both the established requirements of unfair competition law and the new provisions of the AI Act.
Disclosure Requirements for AI-Generated Advertising
Does AI-generated advertising have to be labeled as such?
One of the most common questions is whether all advertising content generated using AI must be explicitly labeled.
The answer currently, as of July 2026, is: No, at least not generally.
Under German unfair competition law, there is generally no obligation to label advertising copy or advertising images as AI-generated merely because artificial intelligence was used to create them. The key question is whether omitting such a disclosure is capable of misleading consumers about material circumstances.
The assessment may be different, however, where consumers may assume from the design that real people or actual events are being depicted, even though entirely synthetic content is being used. The more strongly an advertisement conveys an impression of authenticity, the more likely it is that failure to disclose its artificial nature may raise issues under unfair competition law.
The European AI Act also introduces specific transparency and disclosure requirements for certain AI-generated content. In particular, users must generally be able to recognize so-called deepfakes as artificially generated or manipulated content. Although this transparency requirement primarily serves to protect the public, it may also affect the assessment of advertising under unfair competition law.
Are Deepfakes in Advertising Unlawful?
So-called deepfakes are currently receiving particular attention. These are highly realistic images, videos, or voice recordings created using artificial intelligence.
Not every deepfake is automatically unlawful. Again, the decisive question is whether consumers are being misled about material circumstances.
Problems may arise in particular where AI-generated people create the impression that actual customers or celebrities are recommending a product. The same applies to synthetic voices that are deceptively similar to those of well-known individuals.
In such cases, claims may arise not only under unfair competition law but also under personality rights, trademark law, or copyright law. Companies should therefore exercise particular caution when using highly realistic AI-generated people in advertising.
Is Labeling an Advertisement as “Advertisement” Sufficient?
The traditional labeling of advertising as an “Advertisement” merely fulfills the media law requirement to distinguish advertising from editorial content.
It does not, however, answer the question of whether the specific advertising content was artificially generated.
Whether an additional indication of the use of artificial intelligence is required therefore depends on the circumstances of the individual case. If only AI-generated illustrations are used without creating a risk of deception, no additional disclosure will generally be required.
The situation may be different with photorealistic images or videos where consumers may reasonably assume that they are seeing real people or actual situations. In such cases, both the transparency requirements of the AI Act and unfair competition law may require additional disclosures.
AI Advertising and Misleading Advertising under Section 5 UWG
Who Is Liable for False Statements Made by an AI Chatbot?
More and more companies are using AI chatbots in customer service and sales. These systems often answer questions about products, prices, or contractual terms entirely automatically.
The problem is that modern AI systems can produce so-called hallucinations. In these cases, the system generates seemingly convincing answers that are actually incorrect.
For example, if a chatbot makes inaccurate statements about product characteristics, warranties, or delivery conditions, these statements may be attributable to the company. From the perspective of unfair competition law, it generally makes no difference whether the statement was made by an employee or by an AI system.
The company therefore bears the risk associated with the advertising statements made by its AI system. Regular monitoring and clearly defined limits on the use of chatbots are therefore essential.
AI Washing: When Products Appear More Intelligent Than They Really Are
A new term is becoming increasingly important in unfair competition law: AI washing.
The term refers to advertising claims that a product uses artificial intelligence even though it actually relies only on basic software or automated algorithms.
The term “AI” now carries considerable marketing value. Consumers associate it with innovation, performance, and future-readiness. For this reason, falsely advertising a product as an AI solution may constitute misleading information about material product characteristics.
Companies should therefore only use terms such as “AI-powered,” “AI-assisted,” or “Artificial Intelligence” when appropriate AI technologies are actually being used and make a relevant contribution to the functionality of the product.
Exaggerated or inaccurate claims regarding the use of AI can result in cease-and-desist claims by competitors or consumer protection associations.
AI-Generated Customer Reviews Are Generally Unlawful
Customer reviews are among the most important factors influencing purchasing decisions in e-commerce.
Increasingly, however, highly realistic reviews are being created entirely by artificial intelligence. Such reviews create the impression of genuine customer experiences even though no actual product experience exists.
This will generally constitute a misleading commercial practice.
Unfair competition law requires consumers to receive authentic information about the experiences of other customers. AI-generated reviews significantly distort this impression and may therefore result in claims for injunctive relief under unfair competition law as well as administrative fines.
Companies should therefore never publish or have AI-generated reviews published on their behalf.
Liability for AI-Generated Advertising
Who Is Liable for Trademark Infringement Caused by AI?
Generative AI can create logos, product names, or advertising slogans that are surprisingly similar to existing trademarks.
Many companies assume that the provider of the AI system is responsible for this. In practice, however, liability will generally be directed against the advertising company itself.
Anyone publishing an advertising campaign is required to check beforehand whether third-party trademark rights are being infringed. Using AI does not replace this obligation.
Automatically generated product names or slogans should therefore be reviewed from a trademark law perspective before they are used.
Can AI Create Advertising in the Style of a Competitor?
Many image generators allow users to create content in the style of specific brands or competitors.
Purely stylistic similarities are not automatically unlawful. However, problems may arise if the overall impression of the advertisement creates a likelihood of confusion regarding its commercial origin or exploits the reputation of a well-known competitor.
Unfair imitation under competition law may also arise where distinctive design elements are reproduced almost in their entirety.
Companies should therefore avoid using AI with prompts that explicitly target the corporate design or characteristic visual identity of a competitor.
AI Advertising and Copyright Law
Are AI-Generated Advertising Campaigns Protected by Copyright?
A frequently asked question concerns the copyright protection of AI-generated advertising.
Under the current legal framework, only works based on an individual’s own intellectual creation are eligible for copyright protection.
If advertising copy or images are created entirely automatically by AI, the required human creative contribution may be missing. Purely AI-generated results may therefore, depending on the circumstances, not qualify for copyright protection.
The situation may be different where a person uses AI merely as a tool and contributes sufficient creative input through detailed instructions or subsequent creative modifications.
Companies should therefore not assume that every AI-generated campaign is automatically protected by copyright.
Is There Conversely a Risk of Copyright Infringement?
The reverse question is equally relevant.
Generative AI systems are trained using extensive datasets in some cases. Although modern systems are generally not intended to produce complete copies of existing works, similarities to existing works may nevertheless arise.
Images, illustrations, or advertising copy that closely resemble well-known source material can be particularly problematic.
Before using such content commercially, a careful review is therefore always advisable, especially where distinctive designs, well-known characters, or characteristic visual compositions are involved.
AI Advertising and Spam under Section 7 UWG
Is Automated AI Advertising via Email Permitted?
Artificial intelligence enables highly personalized advertising campaigns via email or messaging services.
However, these technological capabilities do not change the strict requirements of Section 7 UWG.
As a general rule, advertising emails require the recipient’s prior consent. This applies regardless of whether the message was written by a human or generated entirely automatically by an AI system.
Personalized messages remain advertising.
Companies should therefore ensure, particularly when conducting automated campaigns, that all data protection and unfair competition requirements are complied with.
Hyper-Personalization Increases Legal Requirements
Modern AI systems analyze extensive user data and create individually tailored advertising messages.
The more highly personalized advertising becomes, the more important transparency, data protection, and compliance with unfair competition law become.
Consumers must not be subjected to unlawful influence or excessive pressure through particularly manipulative advertising practices. The boundaries between permissible personalization and unlawful influence are likely to become an increasingly important subject of judicial decisions in the future.
Companies should therefore regularly review their automated advertising systems and document the criteria according to which content is presented to users.
Practical Tips for Companies
The use of artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities for modern marketing. At the same time, however, the risk of violations of unfair competition law is increasing considerably.
Companies should therefore have all AI-generated advertising content legally reviewed before publication. Particular attention should be paid to claims concerning product characteristics, pricing promises, and performance features. AI-generated images should likewise be reviewed to determine whether they infringe trademark rights, personality rights, or copyrighted content.
Companies using chatbots or automated communication systems should regularly monitor their responses and establish clear limits on their ability to make independent advertising claims. Marketing statements concerning the use of artificial intelligence must also be factually accurate and must not exaggerate the actual capabilities of a product.
Finally, it is advisable to take the transparency requirements of the European AI Act into account at an early stage in order to avoid having to modify advertising campaigns later.
AI-Generated Advertising and Unfair Competition Law
The growing use of AI-generated advertising does not create a legal vacuum. On the contrary, existing unfair competition law already provides numerous mechanisms for addressing misleading or unfair AI-generated advertising. The European AI Act additionally introduces new transparency requirements, particularly for deepfakes and other synthetic content.
For companies, this means that although artificial intelligence is a powerful marketing tool, legal responsibility remains with the advertiser. Companies using AI-generated advertising should therefore carefully review and document all content. This applies not only to unfair competition law but also to copyright law, trademark law, and the requirements of the AI Act.
Legally compliant AI advertising not only protects companies against cease-and-desist claims and litigation but can also strengthen the trust of customers and business partners. Especially in a market where artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a competitive factor, transparent and legally compliant advertising can itself become a decisive competitive advantage.
As a specialist law firm for intellectual property law, SCHNELLER LEGAL advises companies on the legally compliant use of AI-supported advertising, reviews existing campaigns, and helps protect businesses against cease-and-desist claims and administrative fines. Please contact us for individual legal advice.
This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence.