If you’ve been around literally anything or any human lifeform in the past year, you’ve heard about AI. Especially if those spaces include anyone involved in advertising.
With all these marketing departments starting to adopt AI into every facet of their/our being, the question begins to arise: Should the brands we work for disclose when AI was used in the making of their marketing material?
TL;DR yeah… probably. But there are some Ts&Cs.
When in doubt, let the people know
Being open about AI falls on a sliding scale, with the default being, if you’re not sure, it’s probably best to disclose. However, I think this scale can be evenly broken down into two sectors with a bit of a murky grey area in between.
The primary ethical concern with most brand-led AI creations is, essentially, the question: Could a talented human be paid for what that AI just did? If the voice, person, or creative in an ad is AI generated, the public wants to know, and you should tell them.
A study in the US earlier this year found a 47% lift in ad appeal, a 73% lift in ad trustworthiness, and a 96% lift in overall trust for companies that disclosed the use of AI in ads compared to ads with no disclosure. Literal ROI for admitting you had a little help.
Intentions matter, though
On the flip side to this CO2-spewing AI coin (a rant for another article), we’re also seeing brands proudly divulge their use of AI for bragging rights. With this sort of disclosure, I’m going to have to say the consumers just don’t care.
Consumers love brands that feel genuine, and if you’re disclosing your use of AI as a flex for the Linkedin-fluencers, you may end up losing brownie points by coming across as a cringey tech bro.
When AI disclosure is framed this way, the audience will immediately feel like your brand is willing to cut out human equity, just to jump on the artificial intelligence cyber-wagon.
As for that murky grey area…
While the black-and-white use cases of AI disclosure are relatively straightforward, many brands find themselves navigating a complicated middle ground. Consider these scenarios…
Content enhancement tools: When AI is used for grammar checking, headline optimisation, or A/B testing, does this warrant disclosure? These types of tools or optimisations are so widely used that it would feel like disclosing that you used spell check.
Hybrid creation: What about when human creators use AI as one tool among many? If a designer uses AI to generate initial concepts but heavily modifies them, or a copywriter uses AI to brainstorm ideas but writes the final copy themselves, the line becomes increasingly blurred.
With this in mind, it could be helpful to have a framework to follow. So, here’s yet another framework to add to your bank of frameworks:
1. Context matters (i.e. read the room)
- Consider your audience’s technical literacy
- Evaluate the extent of AI involvement in the final product
- Assess the potential impact on stakeholder trust (because trust issues are for everyone).
2. Transparency
- Develop clear internal policies about when to disclose AI use
- Create standardised disclosure language that’s both honest and accessible
- Maintain consistency across all marketing channels.
3. Future proofing
- Stay informed about evolving regulations around AI disclosure
- Monitor changing consumer attitudes toward AI in marketing
- Be prepared to adjust disclosure policies as technology advances.
While we’re here, it’s worth noting that as AI becomes more mainstream, a lot of these disclosure dilemmas will likely sort themselves out.
We’ll probably see a more nuanced approach emerge through government regulation, standardised AI involvement scales, and even more AI detection tools that’ll spot artificial content a kilometre (I refuse to use that other measurement system) away.
The future won’t be about simple yes/no disclosures, but rather interactive elements that let consumers dive into exactly how AI was used in campaigns.
Disclosing effectively
Ultimately, I think the question around AI disclosure lies more around how to disclose effectively, instead of whether to disclose or not. Brands that can find the right balance between transparency and relevance will end up building stronger connections with their audiences while also maintaining a competitive edge.
In the end, the goal isn’t to apologise for using AI, or to boast about it, but rather to keep yourself honest in the public eye, while maintaining a high standard of creativity and value.
Oh, and full disclosure, AI may have had something to do with this article….
Tilesh Bhaga is creative director: digital & innovation at VML South Africa.
