Generative artificial intelligence tools have been silently innovating how businesses market to consumers in big ways over the last year. However, proposed new AI disclosure laws in Illinois may soon shine a light on these practices.
It should come as no surprise that AI has rapidly infiltrated countless areas of life. Whether you have noticed the shift or not, perhaps the most significant way AI has begun to alter our experience is through business' marketing, branding and advertising.
Brett Jackson, chief executive officer of Systemax, the largest advertising agency in Springfield, said Systemax began using generative AI about a year-and-a-half ago, and it quickly became a foundational part of their work.
"I think they're incredibly useful. We use them for writing copy and coming up with imagery," said Jackson. "As an example, we work with all kinds of brands and each brand has their own brand voice, image, their own look and feel. Some brands are very corporate and very professional sounding. So to write copy for that organization and then switch to one that's more fun and family oriented, then to one that's a little more raunchy – that's a hard thing to do quickly and to be efficient with it."
Jackson said they can easily prompt AI to write posts in the tone that best represents the brand they are working with; for instance, a law firm's Instagram post may need to sound professional while a prompt for a dog food company might ask for a more fun and playful voice.
As far as imagery, Jackson might use AI tools on applications such as Canva to generate a stock image of customers "looking like they are having fun while opening a checking account," for example, instead of having to organize a whole photoshoot to meet that specific request.
Beyond generating content in the first place, Jackson said AI is used to analyze data on how different advertisements perform to then generate subsequent media that can most effectively reach and engage consumers.
"We might say, 'Here's five Instagram ads that we created. Here's the copy for these and how they performed. Now, write an ad that will perform at the highest level using the same voice.' You're able to then layer results and data on top of it to keep refining for better and better results," said Jackson.
This sort of A/B testing, which compares the performance of two versions of content, is not necessarily new to the marketing industry, but with the use of AI it has become far more efficient, effective and accessible at a level that would have required a higher data analytics skill set before.
"I think the important thing to keep in mind is AI is never going to know your brand or your voice as well as you do," McCloud said. "I think we should absolutely take advantage of the benefits, but we should be very respectful about what it can and can't do. For me, it's never going to be a replacement for the human element, whether you are writing out a strategy, or you're writing a press release or you're asking it to draw you a graphic. There are subtle differences that I think people are starting to be able to see whether something's written by artificial intelligence or whether it's been written by somebody who truly knows a customer of a client's brand. I would never just use an AI and give it to a customer without injecting my skill and my expertise into whatever I'm asking it to do," said McCloud.
However, not everyone can so easily spot when AI is being used to influence consumer behavior. And many companies don't include labels indicating when content is AI-generated, but that might soon be changing.
A bill currently in committee in the Illinois General Assembly (HB-4869) would amend the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to require businesses to include a disclosure when AI is used to generate marketing content. According to the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Hoan Huynh, D-Chicago, this includes content that is AI-generated but edited by a human.
"We're seeing a rise in deceptive business practices where folks are misled when they're looking at commercials or advertisements they believe are factual, when in fact they've been created by synthetic media," said Huynh. "So we wanted to make sure any ads for goods or services that are created with artificial intelligence have to be disclosed. That way, consumers can know when something has been artificially altered and can make an informed decision before purchasing a good or service," said Huynh.
Utah was the first state to pass a law of this kind in early April, but many states appear poised to follow. TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have already implemented options for users to select a label for posts that utilize AI. Companies that utilize AI for marketing or advertising would be well-advised to keep an eye on additional regulations that are likely to be put in place for this rapidly evolving technology.
Annie Fulgenzi is a law student at University of Illinois who is particularly interested in issues related to artificial intelligence. She previously interned at Springfield Business Journal and Illinois Times while completing her undergraduate degree at SIUE.
