AI Essentials: IP guidance, Meta ad labelling, EU prohibited practices and Global Marketer Week

WFA publishes guidance on managing IP risks         

WFA has published guidance designed to help brands navigate intellectual property (IP) and copyright risks when using Gen AI for marketing purposes. The report highlights the key IP challenges every marketer should be aware of using practical, real-world scenarios and outlines actionable steps that can be taken to mitigate them.

Developed in collaboration with members of WFA’s AI Community, the report builds on recent member research showing that legal concerns remain the biggest barrier to Gen AI adoption for 66% of brands. Notably, 77% of brands cited IP and copyright risks as their top concerns.

Meta rolls out labels for ads

Meta announced that it would be labelling ads created or significantly edited using the platform’s in-house generative AI tools. In practical terms, this would mean the following:

1. If an advertiser is using Meta’s in-house generative AI creative features and the tools do not result in significant edits to the image or video and do not include a photorealistic human, then no AI label will be applied.
2. However, if an advertiser uses Meta’s in-house generative AI creative features and the tools result in ‘significant edits’ to the image or video, an AI label will be applied. In particular, when this content includes an AI-generated photorealistic human, the label will appear next to the ‘sponsored label’.

The labelling system is being rolled out gradually and is expected to be fully implemented by the end of 2025. Meta also plans to address ads produced with external, third-party AI tools.

WFA hosted a workshop on the transparency and labelling of AI-generated and enhance marketing creative in January and has been working with members to develop voluntary guidance on the topic. If you’d like to find out more, don’t hesitate to reach out to Gabrielle Robitaille.

EU AI Act prohibited practices

In May, the EU adopted the AI Act, which prohibits certain AI practices judged to undermine people’s safety and fundamental rights. While the rules don’t tackle marketing specifically, this includes practices such as social scoring, manipulating human behaviour or exploiting people’s vulnerabilities.

The European Commission has published guidance aimed at providing clarity into which use cases fall under the scope of these ‘prohibited’ practices. The guidance emphasises that legitimate commercial practices such as advertising should not be regarded in themselves as harmful, manipulative, deceptive or exploitative AI-enabled practices.

As a result, it’s unlikely that companies deploying AI in their advertising, including AI-enabled targeted advertising, would fall under a prohibition unless their advertising is reliant on exploiting vulnerabilities and subvert individual autonomy. Targeting people who live in low-income postcodes with ads for predatory financial products and therefore potentially causing them significant financial harm, would be covered, however.

The Act also requires brands using AI to ensure their staff have adequate AI ‘literacy’, i.e. the skills, knowledge and training necessary to understand the opportunities and risks of AI use.  The European Commission has shared a live repository of AI literacy practices to provide examples of how organisations are meeting this obligation.

WFA’s AI Community to meet in Brussels during Global Marketer Week

WFA’s next AI Community meeting will be taking place in Brussels on 18^th March, as part of our annual flagship Global Marketer Week event.

The meeting will offer a unique opportunity to connect with peers from the world's largest brands to explore practical use cases and gain valuable perspectives into how marketers are leveraging generative AI's opportunities and navigating risks.

The session will feature insights from The Brandtech Group, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Danone, Essity and Zurich Insurance Group on the current state of generative AI adoption and how it is poised to revolutionise marketing in 2025 and beyond.

The AI Community meeting is just one of many sessions taking place throughout the week. You can take a look at the agenda and book your spot here.

Please send across any tips, developments and interesting insights to Gabrielle Robitaille.