The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has published advice about disclosing the use of AI in advertising.

Whilst CAP makes clear that there are currently no rules in the UK requiring organisations to disclose the use of AI in their ads, new rules in other countries – as well as industry initiatives on the responsible use of AI such as the ISBA’s 12 guiding principles for the use of generative AI – means that marketers are encouraged to reflect on whether disclosure might be appropriate in certain circumstances.

Marketers are specifically recommended to consider two key questions:

1. Is the audience likely to be misled if the use of AI is not disclosed? In other words, what’s the mischief, if any, that the disclosure is mitigating?
2. If there is a danger of the audience being misled, is the disclosure clarifying the ad’s message or contradicting it?

As the advice suggests, the use of AI will not necessarily mean that an ad becomes more misleading, nor will disclosing the fact that AI has been used necessarily mean that an otherwise misleading ad no longer falls foul of the rules. Context is key: CAP provides the example of an ad that uses AI to misrepresent the effect of a cosmetic product, stating that it will likely materially mislead viewers even if it seeks to rely on a disclosure that AI was used. Conversely, an ad that makes clear that deepfake content is only used for comedic effect “could well help to negate an otherwise misleading impression”.

Looking ahead, CAP says that AI is not yet throwing up challenges which necessitates revisiting its Advertising Codes, but that it is monitoring matters and  is “ready to change [its] approach if that becomes the proportionate way to make ad regulation work in the future”.

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