ASCI Compliance Will Be Mandatory for Influencers in 2026

As India’s creator economy races ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be the year when transparency stops being optional. With brands investing heavily in influencer-led campaigns and audiences becoming sharper than ever, following ASCI guidelines is no longer just good practice. It is fast becoming the cost of entry. Since 2021, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has been the only authorised body setting disclosure norms for influencer advertising in digital media. These rules apply not just to creators, but equally to brands, agencies and platforms. As influencer marketing moves closer to mainstream advertising, ASCI compliance is now being treated as a baseline, not a bonus.

“By 2026, Non-Compliance Will Feel Reckless”

According to Danny Advani, Head of Business Strategy at Dot Media, the industry has entered a phase where grey areas simply cannot survive.

He explains that the creator economy today is scaling at breakneck speed, and with scale comes accountability. ASCI, he says, is not a checklist item but a trust framework that defines credibility across the ecosystem.

Audiences are more informed, misinformation travels faster than engagement, and regulators are watching closely. In such an environment, creators and agencies can no longer afford ambiguity. Advani believes that by 2026, brands working only with ASCI-compliant creators will not be a preference, but a formal policy.

Common ASCI Slip-Ups Creators Still Make

Despite years of guidelines being in place, creators continue to unintentionally violate ASCI norms. Some of the most frequent mistakes include:

• Using vague hashtags like #collab or #partner instead of #ad or #sponsored
• Hiding disclosures after the “read more” cut
• Not declaring gifted products as promotional
• Blending personal opinions with brand claims, especially in beauty, health and finance
• Ignoring platform disclosure tools such as paid partnership tags

These lapses often stem from creators viewing compliance as a restriction rather than a foundation.

Also read: ASCI Eases Rules for Health and Finance Influencers

Compliance Is the Grammar of Influence

Advani compares ASCI guidelines to grammar. Once you understand the rules, creativity flows better. Skip them, and the message may land, but without credibility.

Clear disclosures remove confusion for viewers. Is it an ad, or is it a personal recommendation? Strong enforcement only answers that question honestly. For brands, it forces introspection. For creators, it strengthens trust.

Categories Under Tighter Scrutiny in 2026

As content formats evolve, ASCI’s focus is expanding beyond traditional influencer posts. Three fast-growing areas are likely to face stricter checks:

AI-Generated Content

From bot comments to AI avatars, persuasion without disclosure raises ethical red flags. Audiences deserve to know whether advice or endorsements come from a human or a machine.

Virtual Influencers

Controlled, brand-safe avatars may look appealing, but without clear disclosure, they risk misleading audiences.

Affiliate and Recommendation Links

Micro-creators often share affiliate links without clarifying monetary benefit. As commerce and content merge, transparency becomes a safeguard against manipulation.

How Creators Can Stay Compliant Without Losing Authenticity

Compliance does not mean killing creativity. In fact, it can strengthen it when handled honestly.

• Open with context instead of hiding tags
• Make disclosure part of the hook, not a footnote
• Use story formats where paid partnerships are spoken, not buried
• Be upfront about why you chose to work with a brand

Audiences do not hate ads. They dislike being misled or bored. Honest disclosures combined with value-driven content still perform.

Platforms and ASCI: The Next Convergence

By 2026, ASCI guidelines and platform policies are expected to work in tandem.

Major platforms already offer paid partnership tools. What’s coming next is deeper integration, including automated detection of branded language, backend enforcement that restricts non-compliant creators, and even algorithmic preference for transparent voices.

This shift is about protection, not punishment, for users, for brands and for creators themselves.

What Creators Across India Are Saying

Several experienced creators, journalists, and industry voices have openly supported ASCI’s role in bringing structure, ethics, and long-term credibility to the creator economy. Their views go beyond surface-level compliance and speak to responsibility, trust, and audience respect.

• Ankita Chawla: Ankita Chawla is a digital creator and entrepreneur known for her commentary on influencer culture and brand collaborations. She has consistently pointed out that influencer marketing can no longer sit outside the rules of advertising. She stresses that once creators begin influencing purchase decisions, they carry the same ethical responsibility as any brand campaign. For her, disclosure is not a burden but a professional obligation that protects both the creator and the audience.

• Scherezade Shroff: Scherezade Shroff is a beauty and lifestyle creator who has been part of India’s digital space since the early blogging era. Having been part of ASCI focus groups, Scherezade has called the guidelines a welcome change for an industry that operated unchecked for far too long. She believes transparency is essential for consumers to clearly differentiate between paid partnerships and organic opinions, especially in beauty and lifestyle content, where trust is everything.

• Sujata Assomull: Sujata Assomull is a fashion journalist and author who writes on style, media, and cultural shifts in India. From a journalism lens, Sujata strongly supports a formal code of conduct for social media. She highlights how blurred lines between creators, influencers, and advertisers make it difficult for audiences to know what to trust. Her stance is clear: with influence comes responsibility, and accountability must scale alongside reach.

• Harpreet Suri: Harpreet Suri is a fashion and lifestyle influencer known for her personal style and motherhood-led content. She links disclosure directly to credibility. She points out that today’s audiences are far more aware of marketing tactics and often trust influencers more than traditional ads. That trust, she says, survives only when creators are honest about monetisation. Transparency, in her view, strengthens long-term audience loyalty rather than hurting engagement.

• Anam Chashmawala: Anam Chashmawala is a fashion content creator with nearly a decade of experience in digital storytelling. With nearly a decade in the ecosystem, Anam views ASCI guidelines as a necessary course correction. She believes the initiative encourages creators to normalise honesty instead of treating disclosure as something awkward or optional. For her, clarity is a sign of maturity in a growing industry.

• Ayesha Bilimoria: Ayesha Bilimoria is a fitness and wellness creator focused on health, movement, and lifestyle motivation. Ayesha places strong emphasis on the influencer’s role as an honest middleman between brands and consumers. She warns that misleading claims, especially in health and fitness, can cause real harm. Her advice to newer creators is simple: research deeply, disclose clearly, and remember that influence without integrity eventually collapses.

ASCI is not the enemy of creativity. 

In 2026, creators who see disclosure as a weakness will struggle. Those who see it as leverage will thrive. The future belongs to voices that are honest, clear and confident enough to say, “Yes, this is an ad, and here’s why it still matters.”