WFA: 80% Of Brands Worry How Agencies Use Generative AI

• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, Today

 

Eighty percent of multinational brand owners say they have concerns about how creative and media agency partners are using generative AI (GAI) on their behalf, according to new research from the World Federation Of Advertisers.  

Half or more of the brands surveyed also believe that legal, ethical and reputational risks present “major roadblocks” to more widespread adoption of GAI throughout the industry. 

Despite the concerns, the use of GAI is rising and only 9% of brands say they have no current plans to use the technology for their marketing. 

Most brands are still at the early stages of implementing GAI, according to the research -- 26% of the respondents said their companies use GAI sporadically and 58% claim to be at a “developing“ stage with a strategic plan in place.  

Twelve percent consider their organizations’ use of GAI as “mature” -- they have a unified GAI strategy that applies across all business units/teams. 

Just 2% say GAI is embedded in how they drive innovation, and that the technology is changing their business models.    

Separately the WFA has developed a new set of guidelines with marketing consultancy R3 designed to mitigate legal risks in agency contracts.  

Currently, just 36% of companies have introduced terms prescribing how their partners can use GAI on their behalf, and only 29% have reviewed their media and creative contracts with partners to introduce AI-related clauses. But 55% say they’re planning a contract review for that purpose.  

Currently, GAI is mostly used in the areas of content creation (79%), content ideation (67%) and task automation (54%).  

Seventy percent are prioritizing the use of GAI for efficiencies (time and cost savings) over marketing effectiveness (increase revenue and returns on investments). 

Sixty-three percent of brands have already adopted “responsible” AI principles, while 21% are still in the process of developing them. The most adopted principles are privacy (78%), transparency (76%), responsibility (70%) and respect for intellectual property rights (65%). 

Over half of brands (54%) also have an AI governance board in place, and 68% of those say it addresses specifically the use of GAI in marketing. 

The findings are based on 54 responses from 48 multinational marketers with cumulative annual marketing spend of $102 billion.