SerpApi.Org
Videos of AI-generated health influencers have flooded social media feeds, advertising supplements with claims they shed pounds or cure illnesses.
The New York Times published a video Tuesday about the phenomenon, showing examples of the ads and detailing how they’ve affected consumers.
One ad shown in the video featured two adults, who said, “This is what we look like on day one of taking beetroot every day.” The video then cut to the two adults on day 50, much smaller in size. The misleading video was AI-generated, and the customers were not real.
Another AI ad promoted an herbal supplement it claimed would “treat kidney disease better than medication.” Claims like those are dangerous to vulnerable consumers who don’t know better.
“Ads like these would be illegal on U.S. television, but on the internet, they face little enforcement,” the Times said.
Targeting Americans
The fake health ads are targeted at older American women, according to the Times. They are created around the world, with a large share of the production in China. Vivi Yi, an AI marketing CEO for a company in China, told the Times her employees produce about 1,200 AI ads per day. She said the employees watch American TV shows and movies so they can make the content of their AI ads feel “authentic and local.”
The ads cost $10 per video to produce, Yi said. They promote various products on TikTok Shop like supplements, toys and electronics.
Yi said the agency has contracts with supplement companies, and the Times said she acknowledged that “health products need to be handled with extra caution on TikTok.” For example, the ads must use phrases like “weight management” instead of “lose weight,” she said.
Twisting words
AI ads often feature fake customers, doctors or “Eastern medical gurus,” the Times said. But they can also feature real people saying things they didn’t actually say.
CBS News told the story of Rachel Goldman, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, who was used to falsely promote a product with AI.
Goldman began appearing on “Oprah Daily” in 2023 as an expert panelist on obesity. Videos later showed up on social media depicting Goldman in a 2023 episode of the show, seemingly saying, “The pink salt trick it’s 100% natural and free of side effects.” Goldman never said that. Her words were twisted using AI to create a “deepfake” video endorsing a product related to the pink salt trick, a weight-loss fad popular on social media in 2025.
Goldman told CBS News that many people, including a relative, fell for the deepfake and messaged her about the pink salt diet. Those who bought the product the video advertised also messaged her, saying they were scammed.
What regulations are in place?
In December 2025, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that “requires persons who produce or create an advertisement to identify if it includes AI-generated synthetic performers,” according to the New York governor’s website. It took effect on June 9, 2026.
Some states have AI laws in place, but none are specifically related to advertising like New York’s law. There is no comprehensive federal law regulating AI-generated advertising.
According to the Times, TikTok said it bans accounts on its app that make misleading health claims, and Meta labels AI-generated content. Some videos slip through the cracks, though. The Times showed TikTok and Meta examples of AI ads that hadn’t been removed or labeled, and it said the companies later removed them.
