European retailers are asking regulators to exempt AI-generated advertisements from upcoming transparency rules, arguing that ordinary marketing visuals should not be treated the same way as deceptive deepfakes.
EuroCommerce asked EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen to exempt AI-generated advertisements from the European Union’s new disclosure requirements. EuroCommerce represents major retail members including Amazon, H&M, Inditex, and Ikea.
The debate comes as the EU AI Act moves toward a key date. The AI Act enters into force on August 2 and requires companies to clearly label cases where AI has generated or modified images, video, or audio content “constituting a deep fake”.
Retailers Say Product Ads Are Not Deepfakes
The retail group’s concern is that the rule could sweep normal AI-assisted marketing into a category meant for misleading synthetic media.
Reuters reported that EuroCommerce director general Christel Delberghe said in a letter that AI-generated ads not intended to mislead users should not be included under the definition of deep fake. The letter gave examples such as generating an image of a living room to showcase a sofa or improving product visuals for presentation purposes.
That distinction matters because many retail ads are not meant to impersonate real people or deceive consumers about events. They are often created to display furniture, clothing, home goods, or product settings more efficiently.
AI Is Already Changing Retail Marketing
Retailers are already using AI to reduce the cost and time needed to create advertising materials. Reuters reported that Zalando said AI has allowed it to cut content production costs by 90%. H&M and Zara are using AI-generated clones of models.
This shows why the issue is commercially important. For large retailers, AI can produce seasonal visuals, product mockups, background scenes, and campaign materials faster than traditional shoots. For smaller retailers, AI tools may make professional-looking advertising more affordable.
Mezha reported that the retail association warned strict transparency mandates for AI ads could raise costs and stifle innovation. Excessive disclosure demands could create financial and operational harm for small and medium-sized businesses without significantly improving consumer protection.
Labels Could Lose Their Meaning
EuroCommerce is not arguing against transparency entirely. Its concern is that labeling too much content may make labels less useful.
Delberghe warned applying the regulation to AI-edited or AI-generated ads could force retailers to label a very large share of AI-assisted content. Delberghe said this could dilute the value of disclosure for consumers.
The argument is simple: if every polished product image carries an AI label, consumers may stop noticing the warning. That could weaken the purpose of transparency rules, especially when labels are most needed for deceptive synthetic media.
EU Response Still Unclear
The European Commission has not yet publicly answered the request. Reuters reported that the European Commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The outcome could affect how retailers, fashion brands, e-commerce platforms, and advertisers use AI across Europe. A broad interpretation may require labels on many AI-assisted product visuals. A narrower interpretation may focus disclosure rules on content that could realistically mislead people.
For now, the issue shows how AI regulation is moving from abstract policy into everyday business decisions. The same technology that can create deceptive deepfakes can also generate a sofa scene, a fashion campaign, or a product background. Regulators now have to decide where consumer protection ends and ordinary creative automation begins.
