Washington state signed AI disclosure legislation on April 3 requiring watermarks and labels on AI-generated images, video, and audio. The law also restricts how chatbots interact with users under 18.
The image labeling provisions require companies distributing AI-generated visual content to include either visible disclosures or embedded metadata identifying it as AI-made. The chatbot restrictions cover how conversational AI systems engage minors - specifically around practices like emotional manipulation and simulated relationships that some engagement-driven products have used.
Washington joins California, Colorado, and other states that have moved faster than the federal government on AI disclosure. The EU's AI Act, which took full effect in 2025, mandates similar labeling across Europe. State-level rules like this tend to function as de facto national standards: if your product reaches a US audience, you'll likely need to comply with Washington regardless of where your company is incorporated.
The enforcement problem is the same one every AI content law faces. AI-generated images can have metadata stripped, watermarks cropped off, and content reshared across platforms within seconds. Adobe's Content Credentials system - built into exports from Firefly and Photoshop - is the most serious industry attempt at a technical standard, embedding attribution metadata that travels with the file. It only works if downstream platforms preserve that data, and most still don't.
For marketers and content creators running AI image workflows, this is worth acting on now. If Washington follows the California enforcement model, initial focus lands on large platforms and advertisers rather than individual creators. But adding a disclosure label to AI-generated content is the practical move regardless - it gets ahead of rules that are clearly expanding, and it's a cleaner position to be in when clients or platforms start asking.