Google Ads added a note to the public-figure impersonation section of its ad policies on Thursday, November 12, stating that AI-made impersonations of public figures are banned whether or not the advertiser labels them as AI content. Search Engine Roundtable, which spotted the change, published a screenshot of the new text.
The note reads: “Ads that impersonate public figures using AI aren’t allowed, even if they disclose that they were generated or edited using AI.” Google described the edit as a clarification aimed at advertisers who misread the rule. It said the update “does not change the enforcement of the policy.”
That wording matters. Google is not announcing a crackdown, only closing off an assumption that a visible AI label makes a lookalike ad acceptable. Disclosure remains expected for AI use in general, but it does not rescue this category.
For paid search and paid social teams, the practical step is a creative audit. Any ad featuring a synthetic celebrity, executive, or politician should be pulled now, because a disclosure line will not protect the account from disapprovals.
Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable, November 12, 2026.
