AI content and affiliate disclosures: a creator publishing checklist

In this guide

Before publishing an AI influencer post, answer two separate questions: does the audience need to know the content is synthetic, and does the audience need to know about a commercial relationship? One label does not automatically answer both.

Review the commercial relationship

The FTC explains that material connections can include payment, free products and other relationships that affect how an endorsement is understood. It advises placing a clear disclosure with the endorsement, where viewers will notice it. For video, the disclosure belongs in the video, not only its description. Read the FTC’s Disclosures 101 for the underlying guidance.

Use plain language that matches the arrangement. “Ad” or a clear statement that you earn a commission is easier to understand than an unexplained abbreviation. Do not hide the disclosure among unrelated hashtags or assume the profile bio will be enough.

Review the platform’s AI rules separately

YouTube requires disclosure for realistic AI-generated or meaningfully altered content, with examples and exceptions in its GenAI disclosure guidance. The relevant upload setting and label behavior can change, so check the current instructions before publishing.

TikTok provides its own AI-generated content guidance. Review the current rules for your format and account. A label added automatically by a platform is not a substitute for reviewing what the post represents or whether the content itself is allowed.

Do not turn fiction into a fabricated testimonial

A fictional character can model an outfit or appear in a clearly staged product scene. It cannot supply a real personal history of using a product. Avoid invented before-and-after results, fabricated customer quotes and claims that imply a real test occurred when it did not.

For example, “A styling concept featuring this bag” describes the creative work. “I carried this every day for a year and it never wore out” asserts experience and durability that a generated persona cannot establish. Ask the brand for substantiated product facts and write around those facts.

A publishing checklist you can repeat

1. Identify the real producer and the fictional character.
2. Record payment, gifts, affiliate terms or other relevant relationships.
3. Check the platform’s current AI and commercial-content requirements.
4. Place readable disclosure in the final format, including video where required.
5. Remove unsupported experience and performance claims.
6. Confirm permissions for likenesses, source footage, music and product assets.
7. Save the approved export, caption and offer terms.

Review the actual phone presentation

Open the finished post at normal viewing size. Check that text is not covered by interface controls, cropped from the frame or displayed too briefly. Review both sound-on and sound-off playback. Make the disclosure part of the composition during planning rather than squeezing it into the last available corner.

For a brand project, agree who reviews the final export and who can request a correction after publication. Keep that owner visible in the brief. This checklist supports a production review; requirements depend on the market, platform and particular claims, so use the linked official guidance and qualified advice when the situation needs it.

Pair this process with the video quality checklist and the creator brief template. Clear disclosure works best when the scene itself is honest.