Should ads carry ‘made with AI' labels?

Time of India

21-05-2025

HighlightsMeta has introduced labels such as 'Made with AI' for photos on its platforms to address concerns about misrepresentation and distinguish between authentic and edited content. Industry experts are debating whether advertisements should also carry AI disclosure labels, with opinions divided on the importance of transparency versus potential distraction from the core message. Some advertising professionals view the use of AI as an evolution of existing creative practices rather than something that necessitates labeling, arguing that the focus should remain on creativity and ethical considerations.
Last year,
Meta
began tagging photos uploaded on to its platforms with labels such as 'Made with AI' or 'AI Info'. The latter refers to images that were not necessarily created by artificial intelligence, but which might have used AI-powered tools in the editing process.
After the Oscar-winning film The Brutalist received backlash for using AI to refine the Hungarian dialogue spoken by actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, the Motion Picture Academy was reportedly considering changing its Oscar submission requirements to make disclosures around the use of AI mandatory. The Academy currently offers filmmakers and studios an optional disclosure form for AI use.
Brand Equity asked those in the industry if the same rules should also apply to advertisements.
Rahul Mathew, CCO, DDB Mudra Group
'The whole 'Made with AI' debate is because there is a lot of misrepresentation happening through AI. Tools have become so good that we need 'Made with AI' labels on social media content to distinguish between what is true and what is false.
'However, in
advertising
, the debate is more around AI copyrights rather than what is created using AI. AI uses references from the online space, so it could pick up stuff from an artist and incorporate it into the final design. A lot of debate in the creative space is around how much credit do we give AI. This raises attribution questions, particularly for awards such as Cannes Lions and D&AD, which require AI disclosures.
'Do we need to tell the consumer that an ad film or a static creative was made using AI? Do they even care? They don't. As an industry, we care because it's our work and it involves people who need to be credited. Or we need to justify it to clients in our specs or campaign budgets. But consumers really don't care if you use AI or not. They only react to what you give them as stimuli.'
Tavleen Bhatia, chief marketing and revenue officer, Cleartrip
'In today's cluttered advertising landscape, relevance, speed and personalisation are essential for effective marketing, and AI is increasingly helping us achieve all three. Whether we are optimising content across platforms or tailoring experiences for individual travellers, AI has become a powerful tool for enhancing how we engage with our audience.
'The idea of labelling ads as 'Made with AI' deserves an industry-wide debate. I agree that transparency is important and platforms need to be able to stop proliferation of threats like deep fakes, but when AI is used behind the scenes to improve efficiency or scale content, such labels might distract from the core message rather than add value.
'For us, the focus is on using AI ethically and intentionally, to incrementally add value to our original ideas. In that sense, AI shouldn't lead the way; it should simply guide the way, humanising existing work that resonates with the audience rather than descending into a black hole of discussion about AI vs humans.'
Ritu Sharda, partner and CCO, Pravis Growth Partners
'We've been living in the world of air brushed visuals, touched up faces and colour corrections. In advertising, the object on screen is occasionally made to look much bigger than it is, and sometimes, people are made to shed pounds.
'Advertising has created, lived and served up a world which is a better version of real. Or sometimes not real at all. And we've all accepted that and never needed to call it out.
'For me, creating with AI is an upgrade on what we've been doing for the longest time. As long as it's made with creativity and is ethically right, we don't need an AI label on it.'