Sam Buchanan
Credit: IMAA.
The Independent Media Agencies Australia (IMAA) has updated its AI Guiding Principles, introducing new standards for targeting and supply chain transparency to reflect the rapid evolution of generative AI.
The new principles were developed in collaboration with IMAA members, governance advisory firm FMA Consulting, and AI agency AirStack.
The move follows the initial release of the guidelines in 2024 and is designed to act as a practical "compass" for the independent sector to ensure ethical adoption while minimising risks for staff and clients.
The 2026 framework brings in two new pillars specifically addressing ethical AI-driven targeting and responsible audience use, alongside vendor transparency and supply chain trust.
These principles aim to strengthen the industry's integrity as AI becomes more deeply embedded in media planning and buying.
The 2026 principles now encompass eight core focus areas; ethical, fair, and responsible AI, human-centric and accountable decision-making, transparency with clients, consumers, and vendors, continuous learning and capability building, privacy-aware and data-conscious AI use, client collaboration and safe innovation, awareness of evolving AI and regulatory expectations and vendor transparency and supply chain trust.
The update also reflects the IMAA's commitment to upskilling the independent sector.
The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing (ACAM) will host a dedicated presentation on AI education at this year's Indie-Pendence Day conference.
“As AI becomes embedded across media and marketing, shared principles matter. Industry-led frameworks like the IMAA’s help ensure AI amplifies human judgement, creativity and trust," said ACAM founder, Louise Cummins.
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said that the review was a fulfillment of a promise made at the framework's inception to stay ahead of technological shifts.
“When we first released our AI Guiding Principles in 2024, we made a promise to our members that the document would be regularly reviewed and updated as technologies, standards and expectations change,” Buchanan said.
“These enhanced principles demonstrate our commitment to ensuring our members have access to the most up-to-date guidance for responsible AI adoption, and that the guidelines acknowledge ongoing feedback to ensure they continue to reflect member experience and industry practice.
“We will continue to be proactive in taking a principles-based approach to AI, recognising our position at the forefront of a cohesive and ethical industry approach. This document continues our mission of aligning our members around a shared commitment to adopting AI ethically, transparently, and in the best interests of the industry, our clients and Australian audiences.”
The amended AI guidelines follow the recent launch of the IMAA’s Data Governance and Privacy Principles, creating a dual-framework system intended to help independent agencies navigate Australia’s increasingly complex regulatory and privacy landscape.
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