Pennsylvania AI Deceptive Advertising Act Signed as Act 99

Pennsylvania Enacts an AI Disclosure Duty for Deceptive Advertising

Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 806 on October 22, 2026 as Act 99 of 2026, the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act. The Act is not yet operative. Section 6 provides that it takes effect in 60 days, which falls on December 21, 2026.

Information last verified on October 26, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses Pennsylvania Act 99 of 2026, a Commonwealth statute on deceptive commercial advertising that uses artificial intelligence to generate or modify content. It does not address political or election advertising, which Act 99 does not mention, and it does not address federal advertising rules or the AI disclosure laws of other states. For background on what Pennsylvania already had on the books for artificial intelligence, see our Pennsylvania state page.

What Happened

Governor Shapiro approved Senate Bill 806 on October 22, 2026, and the General Assembly's bill history records Act No. 99 of 2026 as of that date. Senator Nick Pisciottano introduced the measure on June 3, 2025 with twelve co-sponsors, under the co-sponsorship memo title "Disclosure of Artificially Intelligent Generated Content"; the roster grew to sixteen co-sponsors from both caucuses by the time the bill reached its final printer's number. The Senate Communications and Technology Committee reported it as amended on May 6, 2026; the Senate amended it again on third consideration and passed it 48 to 2 on June 10, 2026. The House received it on June 12, 2026, re-reported it from Appropriations on October 7, 2026, and passed it 163 to 40 the same day. Both chambers signed the bill on October 20, 2026, and it reached the Governor on October 21, 2026.

The enacted text, Printer's No. 1808, is a freestanding act of six sections. Its title reads "Providing for unfair methods of competition and for enforcement and penalties," and Section 2 states that the act "relates to deceptive advertising." The enacted text contains no amendatory language and cites no existing statute, so Act 99 stands on its own. It did not start that way. As introduced in Printer's No. 871, Senate Bill 806 amended the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by adding a subclause to the list of unfair or deceptive acts and practices in Section 2(4) of that law. The Senate committee struck that approach, and the version that passed on third consideration on June 10, 2026 is the freestanding act. The bill-information page still carries a statute-reference block naming the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, which is stale metadata from the introduced version rather than a description of what was enacted. Section 4(a) carries the operative prohibition:

"An advertiser may not knowingly, recklessly or willfully create and disseminate or cause to be created and disseminated 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 clear and conspicuous disclosure." Source: Act 99 of 2026 (S.B. 806, P.N. 1808), Sec. 4(a)

Section 6 provides only that "[t]his act shall take effect in 60 days." Pennsylvania's general computation rule, 1 Pa.C.S. 1908, directs that such a period "shall be so computed as to exclude the first and include the last day of such period," and omits the last day when it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday of the Commonwealth or the United States. Counting from October 23, 2026, the sixtieth day is December 21, 2026, which is a Monday, so no omission applies. Until that date, Act 99 imposes no duty on anyone.

What the Act Will Require

Once Act 99 is in force, Section 4(a) will have three moving parts, and all of them have to line up before the disclosure duty attaches.

The first is a mental state. The prohibition reaches an advertiser who acts "knowingly, recklessly or willfully." Negligence is not in the list, and the enacted text does not define any of the three terms.

The second is conduct. The advertiser must "create and disseminate or cause to be created and disseminated" the advertisement, so the provision covers both the party that makes the content and the party that commissions it.

The third element is an effect requirement. The advertisement must use synthetic content "in a manner that creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised." An advertisement built with AI tools that leaves a consumer with an accurate impression of the product itself is not what the sentence describes. Act 99 is therefore not a general labeling mandate for AI-assisted marketing. It is a deceptive-advertising prohibition, and clear and conspicuous disclosure is the condition whose absence completes the violation; the remedies sit separately in Section 5.

Section 3 supplies the vocabulary. Four terms are defined, and the ones that carry the prohibition are these:

"Synthetic content" is information, including an image, video, audio clip or text, that has been significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence. Act 99 of 2026, Sec. 3.

"Artificial intelligence" is defined as a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments, including the ability to perceive real and virtual environments, to abstract those perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner, and to use model inference to formulate options for information or action based on the outcomes of those two steps. The definition states that the term includes generative artificial intelligence, which Section 3 defines in turn as "the class of models that emulate the structure and characteristics of input data in order to generate synthetic content."

Where the prohibition applies, Section 4(a) specifies both the content of the disclosure and how it has to be delivered. The disclosure "must state that the advertisement contains content that was modified or generated using artificial intelligence," and it must be:

1. Displayed in the first instance whenever the synthetic content is presented to the consumer (Sec. 4(a)(1)).
2. Presented in the same medium as the synthetic content (Sec. 4(a)(2)).
3. To the extent technically feasible, permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove from the synthetic content (Sec. 4(a)(3)).

The third requirement is drafted differently from the first two. It asks for durability in the artifact itself rather than a notice placed beside it, and it is qualified by technical feasibility, a phrase the enacted text does not define.

What Makes a Disclosure Clear and Conspicuous

Section 3 defines "clear and conspicuous" as a statement or disclosure meeting all six of the criteria it lists, so the test is cumulative rather than a menu.

The first criterion is perceptibility: the disclosure must appear in a size, color, contrast, location, duration and audibility that is readily noticeable, readable, understandable and capable of being heard. The same paragraph adds a language rule that applies to everything the Act covers, namely that all statements and disclosures "shall be presented in the language or other interaction used by the consumer to interact with or comprehend the synthetic content."

The second criterion is consistency: the disclosure must not contradict, and must not be inconsistent with, any other information presented with it.

The third applies when the disclosure modifies, explains or clarifies other information. In that case it must sit in proximity to the information it modifies, in a manner likely to be noticed, readable and understandable, and it must not be obscured in any manner.

The remaining three criteria are medium-specific. An audio disclosure must be delivered in a volume and cadence sufficient for a consumer to hear and comprehend it. A visual disclosure must be of a size and shade, and remain on screen for a duration, sufficient for a consumer to read and comprehend it. A disclosure in a print advertisement or promotional material, including a point-of-sale display or brochure materials directed to a consumer, must be in a type size and location sufficiently noticeable, printed so that it contrasts with the background against which it appears.

Those are the statutory criteria, stated as the enacted text states them. Nothing in Act 99 prescribes particular words, a font size, a number of seconds, or an approved form of notice, and no state agency is directed to issue one.

What the Act Does Not Reach

Section 4(b) states that subsection (a) "shall not include" content that is:

• "evidently fictional based on the content or context of the depiction";
• "parody, satire, commentary or criticism"; or
• "limited to text."

The text-only carve-out has the widest practical reach of the three, because the definition of synthetic content in Section 3 expressly includes text, and Section 4(b)(3) then takes text-only content back out of the prohibition. AI-written advertising copy, standing alone, is outside Section 4(a) even though it is synthetic content as the Act defines it.

Section 4(c) addresses the effect of complying. It provides that disclosure of the use of AI under subsection (a) "shall not be construed to limit any recourse under law." A disclosure that satisfies Act 99 is therefore not a safe harbor against other claims; whatever remedies a false or misleading advertisement would otherwise expose an advertiser to remain available on their own terms.

Act 99 also sits apart from Pennsylvania's criminal law on synthetic media. The disclosure duty here is a consumer-advertising provision enforced by civil action, and it is distinct from Pennsylvania's separate criminal deepfake provisions, which address forged digital likenesses rather than product claims. Act 99 likewise says nothing about political or election advertising. Any Pennsylvania measure on artificial intelligence in campaign content would be a separate bill with its own text, so readers should not read this Act as covering political advertising.

Who Enforces Act 99 and What a Court Can Award

Enforcement is public. Under Section 5(a), whenever the Attorney General or the appropriate district attorney has reason to believe that a person is using or is about to use a method, act or practice that Section 4 declares unlawful, and that proceedings would be in the public interest, that officer may bring an action in the name of the Commonwealth to restrain the practice by temporary or permanent injunction. Section 5(b) adds that the Attorney General or the appropriate district attorney may bring a civil action for violations of the Act.

Section 5(c), captioned "Damages," provides that a court of competent jurisdiction may award damages for a violation, and specifies that the court may award a civil fine not exceeding $3,000 and actual attorney fees and court costs.

Two features of Section 5 follow from the text as enacted. First, the officers named are the Attorney General and district attorneys; the section identifies no other enforcer and creates no private right of action, so a consumer who encounters an undisclosed synthetic advertisement has no cause of action under Act 99 itself. Second, the monetary provisions are drafted in two steps that do not plainly line up. Section 5(c) first says a court of competent jurisdiction may award damages for a violation, without stating a cap, and then says the court may award a civil fine that does not exceed $3,000 and actual attorney fees and court costs. The $3,000 figure is attached to the civil fine in Section 5(c)(1). The text does not say that figure is the ceiling on the damages the preceding sentence authorizes, and it states no per-advertisement, per-impression or per-day multiplier anywhere. Readers who want the general consumer route instead can start with how deceptive advertising complaints are handled in Pennsylvania, which does not depend on Act 99.

Analysis: Why This Matters

The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.

The drafting choices in Act 99 are more interesting than the headline. Read as a whole, this is a narrow statute wearing a broad name.

The text-only exception is the clearest example. A great deal of the AI work going into advertising is copywriting, and Section 4(b)(3) removes text-only content from the prohibition outright. What is left is the synthetic image, the synthetic video and the synthetic voice, and even then only where the result creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the product. A fabricated customer testimonial or an AI-generated product demonstration is the paradigm case the operative sentence describes; a stylized AI background in a furniture ad is not.

The second structural feature is where the Act puts the weight of enforcement. By naming only the Attorney General and district attorneys, and by capping the fine at $3,000, the General Assembly built a provision whose practical significance depends on public enforcement choices rather than on private litigation volume. We do not predict how those offices will use it. The point is simply that the exposure the Act creates comes from its own text rather than from an agency rule or a stated damages multiplier, and that Section 4(c) leaves Pennsylvania's existing consumer-protection and false-advertising routes untouched alongside it.

Third, the definitional gaps are worth noting now rather than after the first case. Section 3 defines artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, synthetic content and the clear-and-conspicuous standard. It does not define "advertiser," "advertisement," "consumer," "disseminate," or the mental-state terms in Section 4(a), and it does not say how "significantly modified" is measured, which is the line between an edited photograph and synthetic content. The durability requirement in Section 4(a)(3) carries its own open question, since "permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove" points toward embedded provenance signals while "to the extent technically feasible" relieves an advertiser who cannot achieve them.

Finally, the sequencing matters for anyone tracking the wider state-by-state picture of US AI regulation. Act 99 is a disclosure duty bolted onto a deception element rather than a general transparency mandate for synthetic media, and it is enforced through an injunction-and-civil-action structure rather than through agency rulemaking or private suits. That is a narrower design than a labeling requirement applied to all AI-generated content, and it is the design the Commonwealth actually enacted.

How This Affects You

Until December 21, 2026, Act 99 imposes nothing. After that date, the question the statute asks about a given advertisement is factual: does it use significantly AI-modified or AI-generated image, video or audio content in a way that leaves consumers with a false impression about what the goods or services are, where they come from, or whether they are genuine. Where the answer is no, Section 4(a) is not engaged at all. Where it is yes, the disclosure duty described above attaches.

We do not supply disclosure wording, and nothing above is a compliance checklist. Section 3's criteria are drafted as a performance standard rather than a prescribed form, which means whether a particular notice satisfies them is a judgment about a specific advertisement in a specific medium, and that judgment belongs to a lawyer who can see the advertisement. Advertisers in regulated categories should also keep Section 4(c) in view, because a disclosure that satisfies Act 99 does not displace any other claim.

For consumers, Act 99 changes who can act rather than what you can do yourself. From December 21, 2026 the Act will give the Attorney General and district attorneys new authority, but it will not create a private cause of action, so the practical route for a misleading advertisement remains the one that already exists: the general steps available after a false advertisement, including a consumer complaint to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, which Section 5 also makes the enforcer of Act 99 itself.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. It covers Pennsylvania Act 99 of 2026 and reflects the enacted text of Senate Bill 806, Printer's No. 1808, and the General Assembly's bill history as verified on October 26, 2026. The Act does not take effect until December 21, 2026, laws and their interpretation change, and this story is developing. Consult a lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania about your specific situation; nothing here tells you whether any particular advertisement or disclosure complies with the Act.

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Last updated: 2026-10-26. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-10-26.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Pennsylvania's AI Deceptive Advertising Act take effect?

December 21, 2026. Section 6 of Act 99 of 2026 says the act takes effect in 60 days, and 1 Pa.C.S. 1908 computes that period by excluding the day of approval, October 22, 2026, and including the last day. The sixtieth day is Monday, December 21, 2026, so the rule omitting a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday does not change it.

Does Act 99 require every AI-generated advertisement in Pennsylvania to be labeled?

No. Section 4(a) applies only where an advertiser knowingly, recklessly or willfully creates and disseminates, or causes to be created and disseminated, an advertisement that uses synthetic content in a manner creating a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services advertised. Section 4(b) also excludes evidently fictional content, parody, satire, commentary or criticism, and content limited to text.

Is AI-written advertising copy covered?

Text-only content is excluded by Section 4(b)(3), even though Section 3's definition of synthetic content includes text. So AI-written copy standing alone falls outside the Section 4(a) prohibition, while an AI-generated image, video or audio clip in the same advertisement would be assessed under it.

Can a consumer sue an advertiser under Act 99?

The enacted text provides no private right of action. Section 5 authorizes the Attorney General or the appropriate district attorney to seek an injunction in the name of the Commonwealth and to bring a civil action, and Section 5(c) lets a court award damages for a violation, including a civil fine that does not exceed $3,000 and actual attorney fees and court costs. Section 4(c) preserves any other recourse available under law.

What does a disclosure under Act 99 have to say and where does it have to appear?

Section 4(a) requires a statement that the advertisement contains content that was modified or generated using artificial intelligence. It must be displayed in the first instance the synthetic content is presented, presented in the same medium as that content, and, to the extent technically feasible, be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove. Section 3 adds a six-part clear-and-conspicuous test, including that the disclosure be presented in the language or other interaction the consumer used.

Is this Pennsylvania's political advertising AI bill?

No. Act 99 of 2026 is a commercial deceptive-advertising statute, and its text addresses advertisements for goods and services. Its text says nothing about political or election advertising, and any Pennsylvania measure on artificial intelligence in campaign advertising would be a separate bill with its own text and status, which this article does not cover.