Beginning January 1, 2026, a new California law (AB 723) requires real estate agents, brokers, and developers to explicitly disclose if images in property listings have been digitally altered or generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A disclosure is required under the new law when an image is digitally altered using photo-editing software or AI to add, remove, or change physical elements of a property. This includes:
- Adding or removing furniture, fixtures, appliances, or flooring
- Changing paint colors, landscaping, or exterior features
- Altering visible views, neighboring structures, or street elements
- Using virtual stating or AI-generated items that do not actually exist in the home.
In short, any enhancement that changes the property’s condition, features, or layout requires disclosure.
By contrast, standard edits that improve image clarity or accuracy without altering the property itself are permitted. These include:
- Lighting or exposure corrections
- Color or white-balance adjustments
- Sharpening or straightening
- Cropping, resizing or minor angle adjustments.
Put simply, photos may be enhanced to look better—but not to look different.
Advertisements containing any digitally altered image must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the image has been digitally altered and that the unaltered image may be accessed through a link, URL, or QR Code. In addition, the link, URL, or QR Code showing the unaltered images must be provided in the disclosure.
What Does This Mean for Ohio Realtors?
Several Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and broker networks look at what large states like California do and may update their own photo and disclosure policies. Some MLSs already have their own rules about virtual staging and AI edits.
If Ohio MLSs adapt similar requirements to improve transparency or reduce disputes, Ohio realtors might need to start including disclosures or original images in their listings in the near future.
While California’s AB 723 doesn’t legally bind Ohio realtors, it may shape MLS rules, buyer expectations, marketing standards, and risk management practices nationally. Paying attention to how disclosure requirements evolve can keep Ohio realtors ahead of trends and align their processes with emerging norms.
