AI is seemingly everywhere now; every day, anywhere you look, there it is again. It’s popping up in all kinds of places, each time a little bit faster, smarter, more capable. The truth is, there are probably things you’ve read, interacted with or otherwise seen that made use of AI to some degree while you sat there ignorant of the fact. That’s because the U.S. (and most countries) have yet to bind an official book of law about artificial intelligence, how it’s used and whether or not consumers should be told about it.
The European Union did it first, introducing the AI Act in August this year, which takes a risk-based approach to increasingly powerful AI tools, and sets out to preserve and strengthen respect for “fundamental rights, safety and ethical principles.”
While the U.S. and other countries don’t have comparable acts or official legislation just yet, many are working on it. The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights is an example of how government officials are beginning to approach this discussion in America.
MIT Sloan, or the Business School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently joined forces with Boston Consulting Group (for the third year in a row) to converge a panel of AI experts. The task? To react to the following statement:
Companies should be required to make disclosures about the use of AI in their products and offerings to customers.
Here are some things we learned.
About MIT Sloan’s AI Panel and Discussion
Composed of various academics and practitioners from both institutions, the panel set out to gain and share insights about how organizations are implementing “responsible artificial intelligence,” or RAI, around the world and, specifically, if AI disclosures should be mandatory.
First things first, an overwhelming majority of participants either agree or strongly agree that “Companies should be required to make disclosures about the use of AI in their products and offerings to customers.” That’s 50% for the former and 34% for the latter.
Interestingly, 9% fell in the middle of the road, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the statement. Two folks, making up 6% of the panel, disagreed. No one strongly disagreed.
Let’s unpack some of this.
For those who make up the majority, words like “transparency” and “trust” were well-used in their follow-up statements. One gentleman, Mark Surman of the Mozilla Foundation, put it succinctly: “Transparency is key to building public confidence in AI and giving people agency over how they interact with automated systems. Disclosures are the most basic form of transparency.”
Rainer Hoffman of EnBW, who neither agreed nor disagreed, opens his statement by saying “As AI is a general-purpose technology, it will inevitably become integral to many products in the future. Requiring companies to disclose the use of AI (and details) for every single product is impractical.”
And representing those who disagreed, Amit Shah of Instalily.ai, believes forced disclosures may actually curb AI’s continuing metamorphosis, stating:
“Mandatory AI disclosures would impede innovation and overburden businesses, especially smaller ones. Rapidly evolving AI technology means that requirements could quickly become outdated, leading to high compliance costs and legal risks. Such disclosures would clutter interfaces and create unnecessary confusion, potentially overwhelming average consumers who lack the technical understanding to interpret this information meaningfully.”
As you can see, there are diverse insights in these snippets and even more if you choose to read their full statements.
Such strong and coherent arguments either in favor of or against mandatory disclosures could quite possibly be the reason a majority of countries haven’t created any concrete legislation yet. There are lots of valid viewpoints and it may take a while to develop rules that appeal to most people.
But what does all of this mean for marketers in particular? After all, a lot of us are currently using AI in some capacity or at least plan to soon. And while this particular panel doesn’t address marketers or marketing material specifically, we can! So, what gives?
Mandatory AI Disclosures in Marketing: Yay or Nay?
No matter how you personally feel about AI or disclosing your use of it in your marketing campaigns or materials, the vast majority of people seem to agree that trust and transparency are of utmost importance. But why should you care right now if your country has no equivalent of the EU’s AI Act?
Trust and transparency are undoubtedly important to business-consumer relationships. If customers can’t trust a business and its marketing tactics, it’s a recipe for reputational damage.
But there are many other great reasons for getting out ahead of AI legislation, too, like:
Preemptive Compliance
While AI-specific legislation may not exist yet, it’s certainly on the horizon in many regions. Early adoption of responsible AI practices can help prepare you and your organization for future regulations, which ultimately — hopefully — should minimize disruption and ensure smooth transitions once laws are in place.
Avoiding Ethical Missteps
Misuse or over-reliance on AI without clear disclosure can lead to unethical outcomes, such as biased targeting or manipulation of your audience. Addressing these concerns early helps avoid scandals or backlash, which could severely damage your brand image.
Long-Term Business Success
The proliferation of AI is an inevitability, so building your business on ethical, transparent AI use is conducive to long-term growth. Whether doing so becomes law or not, your customers will surely thank you for it.
If you share the opinions of the majority, here are some tips on rolling out AI disclosures and adopting transparency as part of your overarching AI strategy.
How To Start Thinking About AI Disclaimers if You Haven’t Already
No matter how the final bill ends up, it’s a good idea to think about or even prepare for AI legislation and mandatory disclosures. Perhaps AI disclaimers don’t become mandatory and you feel like you’ve wasted some time and resources prepping — but hold on! At least you’ve gotten out ahead of it, which tells your customers that you’re on the ball, care about being transparent and value their trust, and that’s an objectively good thing.
So here are our tips:
Keep It Simple
There’s no need to muddy the waters with over-complicated language. If you’ve never used a disclaimer before, phrases like “Content generated with AI assistance” or “AI-enhanced content” on campaign footers or product descriptions are often all that’s needed to get the message across.
Customize Disclosures Based on the Medium
Different platforms may require slightly different disclosures. It won’t always make sense to just plaster the statement above or underneath whatever you’re sending out there (because it might look bad aesthetically). Instead, consider the following:
- For email campaigns, AI disclosures might appear as a short statement in the footer.
- On social media, a hashtag like #AICreated or #AIEnhanced can make it clear that AI contributed to the content.
- In video content, brief on-screen captions or text beneath visuals can work well.
Stay Authentic
Ensure that even with AI involvement, your brand’s voice and values remain consistent. AI should complement your marketing, not overshadow the human creativity behind it. The last thing you want is to lose that connection with your audience that you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
Highlight Human-AI Collaboration
Where appropriate, emphasize the role of human oversight in AI-generated content. This can help maintain a sense of authenticity and reinforce that AI is a tool rather than a replacement for your all-star marketer’s creativity and judgment.
Be Reasonable, Responsible, Respectful
Whatever the future holds, remember to always be reasonable, responsible and respectful, and you’ll be alright.
If you’re curious to see what AI disclaimers look like out in the wild, feel free to go for a little internet scavenger hunt and you’re sure to come across one sooner or later. Or, you could just read Top 5 AI Disclaimer Examples To Keep Your Content Compliant for a compendium of disclaimers top brands have done well.
