California AB 723: What AI-Edited Listing Photos Now Require
California AB 723 (Bus. & Prof. Code §10140.8) requires a disclosure and a link to the original for digitally altered listing photos. What the text says.
Disclosure: Machineworthy is owned by the maker of QuickStage, one of the tools covered in this post.
California AB 723 added Business and Professions Code §10140.8, in force since January 1, 2026. It requires a real estate broker or salesperson who uses a digitally altered image to advertise a property for sale to include a statement disclosing that the image has been altered, plus a link, URL or QR code that gives access to the original, unaltered image. Virtual staging counts: the statute's definition of an altered image covers adding, removing or changing furniture, whether the edit was made with photo editing software or artificial intelligence.
Everything below comes from the text of §10140.8 and the chaptered bill, both read on October 2, 2026. Where we quote, the words are the statute's. Where the statute is silent, we say so. This isn't legal advice; check your MLS and broker.
Who has to comply, and for which ads?
The duty falls on "a real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf."
It applies when that person "includes a digitally altered image in an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property." The text is not limited to the MLS or to websites.
Two limits in the wording: the section speaks of the sale of real property and does not mention rentals, and the definition covers an image "created by or at the direction of" the broker, salesperson or person acting on their behalf. If you are unsure whether either phrase covers you, ask your broker.
What counts as a digitally altered image?
The definition is broad. An image is digitally altered if it "has been altered through the use of photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements in the image." The statute then lists examples, "including, but not limited to, fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans," and things beyond the lot line: "streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties."
The carve-out is narrow and specific. An image is not digitally altered where "only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments are made that do not change the representation of the real property."
Altered or not? Machineworthy's quick table
This is our reading of the statute's own lists, not an official chart.
| Edit to the listing photo | Altered under §10140.8? | Statute wording it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual staging: furniture and decor added to an empty room | Yes | "add ... elements," "furniture" |
| Removing existing furniture or clutter | Yes | "remove ... elements," "furniture" |
| Changing wall color or flooring | Yes | "flooring, walls, paint color" |
| Editing the lawn, plants, patio or exterior | Yes | "hardscape, landscape, facade" |
| Removing a utility pole or changing a window view | Yes | "utility poles, views through windows" |
| Exposure, white balance, color correction, sharpening | No, if that is all | Named in the exclusion |
| Cropping, straightening, angle | No, if that is all | Named in the exclusion |
The word "only" in the exclusion carries weight. A photo that is color-corrected and also staged is an altered image. And the exclusion ends with a test, not a list: the adjustment must "not change the representation of the real property." Judge any edit named in neither list against that phrase.
Where does the disclosure go, and what must it say?
The statute sets three requirements for the statement.
- Content. It must disclose "that the image has been altered," and it must "include language indicating that the unaltered images can be accessed on the linked internet website, URL, or QR code."
- Placement. It must be "reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image." A note buried at the end of a long remarks field is hard to square with "on or adjacent to."
- Access to the original. The ad must carry "a link to a publicly accessible internet website, URL, or QR code that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image."
"Publicly accessible" rules out a folder that needs a login, and "clearly identifies" means a viewer can tell which image is the original.
The statute does not prescribe exact wording. For example, a caption could read: "Virtually staged. This image has been digitally altered. The original, unaltered photo can be viewed at [URL]." That sentence is our illustration, not official language, and your MLS or broker may require its own.
What changes on a website you control?
Paragraph (a)(2) adds a rule for ads "posted on an internet website over which the real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf, has control." There, they "shall include the unaltered version of the images from which the digitally altered images were created in the posting."
The same paragraph gives an alternative: they "may comply with this requirement by including a link to a publicly accessible internet website that includes, and clearly identifies, the original, unaltered image." With the link route, the statement must say the unaltered images can be accessed there.
For places you don't control, the statute has no separate paragraph. The general rule in (a)(1) still applies to the ad: statement on or adjacent to the image, plus the link, URL or QR code. How a particular MLS or portal lets you attach those is not in the statute. Rules vary; check your MLS and broker.
What does the statute leave out?
Section 10140.8 itself lists no fine or penalty schedule. The Legislative Counsel's digest printed with the bill notes that "a willful violation of the Real Estate Law is a crime" and describes AB 723 as imposing new requirements on licensees. We won't guess past that.
The disclosure also sits on top of existing duties. For REALTORS, Article 12 of the NAR Code of Ethics already says members "shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations." A label does not make a misleading photo acceptable, and staging should never be used to hide a defect.
Label, Link, Keep: a compliant workflow with any staging tool
This is Machineworthy's three-part rule for working under §10140.8. It is a memory aid, not an official standard.
- Keep. Before you stage anything, save the unedited original of every photo you plan to alter, at full size, under a file name that says "original."
- Label. Put the altered-image statement on or adjacent to every staged photo, everywhere it appears: MLS, your site, social posts, flyers. Label photos outside California too.
- Link. Host the originals on a publicly accessible page, mark each one clearly as the original, and put that link, URL or QR code in the ad. On a site you control, post the originals alongside the staged versions or use the link.
Before publishing, open the ad as a stranger would and try to reach the original from the staged photo.
What should you look for in an AI staging tool?
No tool removes the duty. Added furniture alone puts the image inside the definition, so every staged photo needs the statement and the link regardless of which product made it.
What a tool does control is how far the staged photo departs from the original. A caption that says "virtually staged" tells a buyer to expect different furniture. It does not tell them the floor was replaced, the wall repainted or the view through the window redrawn. The more a tool changes the room, the more the disclosure has to carry.
So the criterion: the tool should add only movable furniture and decor and return walls, windows, floors and paint as photographed. Check it by flipping between the original and the output at full size.
QuickStage is our pick on that criterion. It is built to keep walls, windows, floors and paint colors as photographed and to add only movable furniture and decor, with top-quality, photorealistic results in about 30 seconds. It costs $1 per photo pay-as-you-go with no subscription, drops to as low as $0.11 per photo on the annual Agency plan (billed yearly), and includes QuickFix re-dos on plans. You can try QuickStage's pay-as-you-go staging on 3 free photos with no account or card.
We are not claiming QuickStage labels images for you, hosts your originals or makes a listing compliant. Keeping the original, writing the statement and publishing the link remain your job with any tool.
Bottom line
AB 723 asks for two things whenever a digitally altered image advertises a California property for sale: a reasonably conspicuous statement on or adjacent to the image saying it was altered, and a link, URL or QR code to a publicly accessible page that clearly identifies the original. Keep the original, label the image, link the original, and pick a tool that changes as little of the room as possible.
Stage three photos free with QuickStage before your next listing, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
What does California AB 723 require for AI-edited listing photos?
AB 723 added Business and Professions Code §10140.8, in force since January 1, 2026. A broker or salesperson who uses a digitally altered image to advertise a property for sale must include a statement that the image has been altered and a link, URL or QR code giving access to the original, unaltered image. This isn't legal advice; check your MLS and broker.
Does virtual staging count as a digitally altered image under AB 723?
Yes. The statute defines a digitally altered image as one changed with photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove or change elements, and its list of examples includes furniture. Adding furniture to an empty room falls inside that definition, so the photo needs the disclosure and access to the original.
Do I need a disclosure if I only adjust brightness or crop a photo?
Not under §10140.8, if that is all you did. The statute excludes images where only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure or other common adjustments are made that do not change the representation of the property.
Where does the AB 723 disclosure have to appear?
The statute says the statement must be reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image, and must say that the unaltered images can be accessed at the linked website, URL or QR code. On a website the licensee controls, the unaltered images must be included in the posting or linked.
Does AB 723 give exact wording for the disclosure?
No. Section 10140.8 says what the statement must disclose and where it must sit, but it does not prescribe a sentence. Your MLS or broker may have required wording, so check with them before you write your own.
Does using a careful AI staging tool mean I can skip the disclosure?
No. Added furniture alone makes the image digitally altered under the statute, whichever tool produced it. A tool that leaves walls, windows, floors and paint as photographed keeps the staged photo close to the original, but you still have to label the image and provide access to the original.