Under its ‘inclusive influence’ commitment, Ogilvy, a global leader in advertising and PR, has inaugurated a new scheme compelling advertising agencies, PR agencies, and social media platforms to make obligatory disclosures about the use of AI-generated influencers. This initiative, the ‘AI Accountability Act’, mandates brands to publicly declare and transparently disclose the use of AI-created influencer content.
This worldwide appeal seeks to address the escalating deployment of virtual or artificial influencers by brands, ensuring influencer authenticity and consumer transparency in social media applications.
Driving this commitment, Ogilvy will enact initiatives including full disclosure on all AI-driven influencer campaigns, transparency assurance through the hashtag declaration #poweredbyAI, and the introduction of a new watermark on AI-generated content for clear visual identification. This enhances accountability when AI influencers are utilized in campaigns.
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Ultimately, Ogilvy’s goal is to stimulate policy changes and equip social media platforms to allow marketers to disclose their engagements with AI-generated content. This disclosure is akin to the prevalent “paid partnership” tag used in the industry. The call for action is inclusive of brands and agencies, advocating for absolute transparency in AI influencer usage.
Ogilvy aims to foster an environment where AI influence not only coexists with genuine human experiences but also enriches them. The ‘AI Accountability Act’ comes in a timely manner, as Ogilvy has also established an AI-generated influencer center of excellence in Vietnam. This center offers comprehensive consultancy, virtual influencer creation, and AI-empowered storytelling for global brands.
Global CEO of Ogilvy PR, Julianna Richter, expressed, “AI’s capacity to create and learn swiftly has already revolutionized online personalized content production. However, AI should be rooted in empathy and transparency, fostering honest consumer interactions, and making significant impacts at the intersection of new digital capabilities.”
With the AI market valued at US$4.6 billion and anticipated to grow by 26% by 2025, Ogilvy’s global head of influence, Rahul Titus, commented, “As industry leaders, we bear the ethical responsibility to maintain transparency as we pioneer this new frontier. The AI advancements are thrilling for the influencer marketing landscape, but without distinguishing between what’s real and not, we risk compromising authenticity.”
Recently, Ogilvy committed to combat the misuse of beauty and body editing in influencer content, ceasing to work with influencers who alter or retouch their bodies or faces across sponsored or paid-for content in influencer activations.
This article is based on information from Marketing Interactive.
