AI Act and Generative Content: European Retail in the Balance

The context: when the law doesn't know its own subject

The European AI Act came into force in 2024 and began its rollout in 2025. Yet one of its most critical points remains unresolved. The law imposes transparency obligations on synthetic content, including content that can be classed as deepfakes. The problem is that the operational definition of deepfake is not clear-cut in the legislative text.

This ambiguity is not a minor technical detail. It directly affects millions of euros of advertising investment in European retail. Companies that already produce product images, digital sets and virtual models with AI now have to answer a question with no certain answer: do we have to disclose it?

The original source of this story is an analysis published by The Decoder, which highlighted the pressure Eurocommerce is putting on the European Commission. The topic is set to stay central throughout 2026 and probably until 2027.

The numbers reshaping retail marketing

The most significant figure comes from Zalando. The e-commerce platform says that 90% of the marketing content published on its platform is already generated with artificial intelligence. This number is not an exception: it's the direction of the entire industry.

So when we talk about AI Act compliance in retail, we're not talking about marginal cases. We're talking about the operational core of content strategies at large and mid-sized companies. What's more, this isn't only about big players. Italian retail SMEs, often with limited budgets, are also adopting generative tools to produce product images, banners and campaign creatives.

According to Gartner data, by 2027 over 30% of all global marketing content will be AI-generated. As a result, the European regulatory question is not a future concern: it's already present in today's creative pipelines.

Eurocommerce's position: a sofa image is not a deepfake

Eurocommerce, the association representing giants like Amazon, H&M and IKEA, has submitted a formal request to the European Commission. The goal is to obtain an explicit exemption for AI-generated images used for commercial advertising purposes.

The argument is logically sound. A virtual living room created by a generative model to place a sofa for sale in context deceives no one about the identity of a real person. It doesn't manipulate faces, alter statements or create false identities. On the contrary, it's a digital visual merchandising tool, much like a studio photo with a built set.

Still, the European Commission has not yet formally adopted this distinction. So the regulatory gap persists. And without clarity, companies' legal and marketing teams tend to act defensively, slowing adoption or adding unnecessary disclaimers.

The operational gray area for marketing managers

For a marketing or digital lead at an Italian company, the problem comes down to concrete questions. Do you need to add a disclosure every time you use an AI-generated image in a Google Ads campaign? Does a banner with a virtual model breach transparency rules? Does a product photo retouched with AI fall under the definition of synthetic content?

Right now, the answers are not clear-cut. So companies have to make compliance choices under uncertainty. That has a cost: it slows creative processes, increases legal work, and in some cases leads companies to give up more efficient AI solutions to avoid unquantified regulatory risk.

At SHM Studio, we see this firsthand in our work with clients. In particular, when planning Google Ads campaigns and LinkedIn campaigns, the need to define an internal policy on AI-generated content, even before tackling creative strategy, comes up more and more often.

Strategic view: three possible scenarios for 2026-2027

Looking at how the regulatory framework is evolving, we can identify three plausible scenarios for the next 18 months.

• Scenario A — Commercial exemption approved: The Commission accepts Eurocommerce's request and introduces an explicit distinction between deepfakes and AI content for commercial advertising use. In this case, retailers can keep scaling generative production without additional disclosure obligations.
• Scenario B — Blanket labeling requirement: The EU decides to require labeling on all AI-generated content, regardless of context. As a result, every generative image in an ad will have to carry an explicit label. The impact on user experience and campaign CTR could be significant.
• Scenario C — Prolonged regulatory deadlock: The Commission provides no operational clarification in the short term. As a result, each member state interprets the rules on its own, creating a regulatory patchwork that complicates pan-European strategies.

Scenario C is, for now, the most likely in the short term. According to an analysis by Harvard Business Review, companies operating in ambiguous regulatory environments tend to overestimate compliance risks, slowing technology adoption compared with competitors in markets with clearer rules.

Operational implications for content strategies

In practice, Italian marketing managers need to approach this scenario with a two-level strategy.

The first level is the internal governance of AI content. First, you need to map which assets in your creative output are generated, even partially, by generative AI tools. This includes product images, virtual backgrounds, digital models, generated copy and synthetic video. Then, you should define a company policy that sets out when and how to disclose the use of AI in advertising content.

The second level is campaign flexibility. Digital marketing strategies must be designed so creative formats can be adapted quickly if new regulatory obligations arrive. Likewise, SEO strategies built on generative content must allow for possible transparency requirements that could affect organic rankings.

On top of that, anyone managing copywriting and visual content production should start documenting the creative process. This documentation could become relevant in the event of a compliance audit.

The work still in progress: what European regulation is really missing

The core problem isn't technical. It's conceptual. The AI Act was written out of a legitimate concern: protecting citizens from information manipulation. But lawmakers didn't draw a sharp enough line between identity manipulation and AI-assisted creative production.

That distinction matters. A deepfake that alters a politician's face to attribute false statements to them is a democratic problem. An AI-generated image of an apartment used to sell a sofa is a visual merchandising tool. Putting both under the same regulatory framework creates operational distortions without delivering real benefits to consumers.

In fact, retail consumers don't ask whether the living room in the photo is real or generated. They ask that the product match its description. So the transparency that matters here is about the quality and features of the product, not the origin of the background image.

At SHM Studio, we believe the European debate should move toward a more precise taxonomy of AI-generated content, differentiating by purpose, context and potential to deceive. Without that distinction, the risk is slowing down marketing innovation without truly protecting anyone.

Next moves: what to monitor in the coming months

If you're a marketing manager or digital lead at an Italian company, there are a few deadlines and developments to keep an eye on.

• AI Act implementation guidelines (second half of 2026): The European Commission is expected to publish operational guidance on the categories of content subject to transparency obligations. These documents will be decisive for campaign compliance.
• Advertising platform positioning: Google and Meta are developing their own policies on AI-generated content in ads. Their technical choices could anticipate or even bypass the European regulatory framework.
• The evolution of AI marketing tools: Leading vendors are already building watermarking and metadata features into generative content. Choosing tools with native traceability is a smart, prudent move.

If you want to explore how to build these considerations into your digital presence strategy or your ad campaigns, you can reach our team through the contact page or browse the insights on the SHM Studio blog.