The findings have drawn attention to how longstanding rules around health claims, endoursements and advertising disclosures apply when the person delivering the message is synthetic.

Existing advertising rules still apply.

The FTC's rule covering consumer reviews and testimonials does not impose a blanket prohibition on AI-generated avatars or virtual influencers. The agency has said an AI-generated avatar could be considered a testimonial under the rule and could be prohibited if the underlying testimonial is fake or false.

Asa Waldstein, founder and principal at Apex Compliance, told NI this allows brands to use virtual spokespeople to communicate truthful and substantiated product information, provided they comply with the advertising rules that would otherwise apply.

"I see a legitimate and positive role for AI influencers," Waldstein said.

"In some ways, a well-managed virtual spokesperson may be easier to control than a human influencer because the brand can preapprove the script, limit the character to substantiated claims, standardize disclosures and prevent the off-script statements that frequently create influencer risk," he illustrated.