Credit: Petr Sidorov via Unsplash
The Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) has released an Artificial Intelligence Governance Toolkit.
ADMA's State of AI in Marketing Survey, with more than 1,000 participants, found that 84% of marketers want a best-practice framework to guide responsible AI use.
The toolkit gives marketers a foundation for understanding AI, applying it effectively within marketing workflows and mitigating risks across privacy, compliance, transparency and brand safety.
ADMA CEO Andrea Martens said the need for clarity has become urgent as AI embeds itself in daily operations.
"Marketers are integrating AI into their workflows at speed, but many are doing so without the standards required to use these tools responsibly," she said.
"ADMA developed this toolkit because the demand for clear, practical guidance has never been greater.
“Our goal is to give every ADMA member the confidence to navigate this shift with sound judgment.
“Responsible adoption is not about slowing innovation. It is about ensuring creativity, compliance and trust can coexist as the role of AI continues to grow."
The toolkit is authored by Sage Kelly, ADMA's regulatory and policy manager and an AI research specialist whose academic work at Queensland University of Technology examined the social, ethical and behavioural dynamics behind AI adoption.
Kelly highlights the growing risks emerging not from malicious intent, but from inconsistency and gaps in understanding.
"The risk is not the technology itself, it is how it is used," she said.
"When synthetic content is deployed without transparency, trust erodes quickly and consumers are already questioning what is real and what is being disclosed.
“At the same time, AI is becoming deeply embedded in marketing while the governance gap continues to widen."
Kelly said many teams are experimenting with powerful tools without a shared understanding of how they work or the risks they carry.
"This toolkit is designed to bridge that gap by making the fundamentals clear and practical, helping marketers experiment safely, reduce avoidable harm and embed governance into everyday decision-making," she said.
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