The photograph in an advertisement was never taken, the voice in a video does not belong to a real person, and the message a customer receives was composed by a chatbot. Artificial intelligence can already be involved in almost every step of creating marketing communications, but that does not mean every use of it is equally relevant to the audience. There is a difference between a tool that helps a creative team prepare a campaign and content that may lead consumers to believe something that is not real.
Where is that distinction drawn, and who is responsible for the final decision? IAB Croatia has published the Guidelines for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing Communications, seeking to provide the marketing industry with shared criteria for questions that increasingly arise in everyday work.
Not Every Use of Artificial Intelligence Is the Same
One of the most concrete parts of the new document concerns content labeling. Alongside the Guidelines, a separate supplement, Practical Examples of Labeling Content Created by Artificial Intelligence in Marketing Communications, has also been published, distinguishing between cases in which such labeling is mandatory, recommended, or unnecessary.
The examples cover text, visuals, video and audio content, chatbots, personalized communications, influencers, and creative processes. This shifts the question of transparency from a general principle to concrete decisions that teams make during campaign development and execution.
This is particularly important for the industry because artificial intelligence is not used solely to create content that audiences see. It is increasingly involved in the processes that precede publication, from creative development to production and adapting communications to different audiences.
Responsibility Cannot Be Left to a Tool
Content labeling is only one part of a broader professional framework. The Guidelines address human oversight and accountability, data protection, intellectual property, the treatment of vulnerable groups, and the development of artificial intelligence literacy.
The document was developed on behalf of IAB Croatia’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group by Kamilo Antolović (Algebra Bernays University), with the support of Vanja Šebek (Algebra Bernays University), Vice Božić (GoAds) and Duško Tubić (dentsu Croatia).
By publishing the Guidelines, IAB Croatia continues its work on developing shared professional standards in the Croatian market. They are intended for advertisers, agencies, media, technology partners, and content creators, in other words, everyone involved at different stages in the creation and distribution of marketing communications.
For these market participants, it is becoming increasingly important not only to understand the capabilities of new tools but also to be able to assess their consequences. A creative team may use artificial intelligence, but the decision about what the audience will see, how the content will be presented, and whether its creation requires further explanation remains the professional responsibility of the people behind the communication.
