Should your website say where you use AI?

Key takeaways

There is no blanket UK rule that every use of AI must be disclosed on a website. But if a chatbot talks to customers, if AI processes personal data or makes decisions about people, or if AI-generated content could mislead, you have duties. Say plainly where AI is used, especially for chatbots, and check what it says.

• No blanket UK rule, but specific duties apply.
• Tell visitors when they are talking to a chatbot.
• AI processing personal data must be explained in your privacy notice.
• You are responsible for what your AI tools tell customers.

Do you have to disclose AI use on a website?

There is no general UK law requiring every website to disclose AI use. Specific duties apply instead: data protection transparency when AI uses personal data, consumer law against misleading content, and advertising rules. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) recommends plain disclosure wherever a reasonable visitor would want to know.

• What information should every business website have?
• Inaccurate information on your website: the legal risk

Should chatbots say they are AI?

Yes. Visitors should know whether they are talking to a person or a bot, and what it can and cannot help with. You remain responsible for its answers: in Moffatt v Air Canada (2024), a Canadian tribunal held the airline liable for its chatbot's incorrect advice. Limit what a chatbot can answer and check it.

• When your chatbot gets it wrong: who is liable?

What about AI and personal data?

If AI tools process visitors' or customers' personal data, for example to qualify leads or analyse enquiries, your privacy notice must explain it. The ICO's guidance on AI covers transparency and, where decisions about people are automated, extra safeguards. Name the purpose, not every tool.

• What a UK website privacy policy must include

Do you need to label AI-written content?

Not as a rule. Google's guidance says it rewards helpful content however it is produced, and that it is the quality and accuracy that matter. Label AI content where it would otherwise mislead, such as AI images presented as real projects, or synthetic testimonials, which must never be used.

• Fake reviews law in the UK: what businesses must know
• Photos of your premises: proof you are a real business

Where should an AI statement go?

Put chatbot disclosure inside the chat window itself. Cover AI and personal data in the privacy notice. If AI is a big part of how you deliver your service, a short 'how we use AI' section on the about or policies page answers client questions in one place.

• Which company policies to publish on your website

When is disclosure unnecessary?

Disclosure is unnecessary for routine internal uses, such as spelling checks or drafting help, where a person reviews and owns the result. The point is to avoid misleading people, not to list every tool in your workflow.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a business adds a chat widget with a human name and photo, and visitors assume they are talking to staff. Renaming it as an assistant, saying it is automated and offering a route to a person resets expectations and avoids complaints.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

AI disclosure checklist

• List where AI touches visitors or their data.
• Label chatbots as automated.
• Offer a route to a person.
• Update the privacy notice.
• Never use AI-generated testimonials or fake project photos.
• Check what AI tools say about your service.

• Subscription terms on your website: what to show
• Affiliate and sponsored links: disclosure on your site

Next step

List every place AI touches your website visitors or their data. Add a plain disclosure to each one that a visitor would want to know about.