CMDC AI COUNCIL INITIATIVE

Driving Innovation with Integrity: Responsible AI in Canadian Media

Artificial intelligence is a powerful accelerator of growth. Projected to unlock a $230 billion economic opportunity in Canada, AI is reshaping technology, media, marketing and Canadian business. By 2031, this transformation is targeted to create 250,000 high-value jobs across the country.

To lead this growth responsibly, the CMDC AI Council has established Principles for Responsible AI in Advertising. This framework gives agencies, marketers, and media partners the operational clarity to scale AI while safeguarding public trust, data privacy, and a healthy ecosystem in Canada.

$230B

Projected GDP growth impact across
Canada's economy by 2030

250,000+

New high-value jobs anticipated across media, tech, and creative sectors

Industry-wide standards

Industry-wide
standards

Establishing responsible AI governance for the Canadian media industry

Putting Responsible AI into Action

Take the Responsible AI Pledge →

CMDC AI Principles →

AI Council →

THE 4 Principles OF
RESPONSIBLE AI IN ADVERTISING

1

- Client-Agency Alignment: Maintain mutual transparency regarding AI tool usage. Advertisers and agencies should agree on how AI may be used and clearly identify AI-powered or AI-enhanced work, including research, strategy, plans, reports and creative deliverables.
- Public Confidence: Use AI in ways that maintain public trust in advertising. Undisclosed deepfakes, impersonation and fraudulent or misleading advertising should not be used.
- Risk-Proportional Disclosure: Apply a proportionate, risk-based approach to disclosure. Clearly identify AI-generated or AI-altered advertising when it could mislead a reasonable consumer about authenticity, identity or representation. Routine assistive or back-office uses generally do not require consumer labelling, although they may still require disclosure between business partners.
- Procurement Transparency: Maintain mutual transparency during the pitch and RFP process. If AI tools are used to pre-screen submissions or summarize agency pitch materials, this must be disclosed to all participating parties upfront.

2

- Human Oversight: Human judgment should remain central to the responsible use of AI. Apply appropriate oversight before AI-driven decisions are activated, including fact-checking, permission and rights clearance, disclosure assessment and approval.
- Privacy & Data Security: Apply privacy-by-design principles and safeguard sensitive consumer data used in AI systems. Comply with applicable Canadian privacy, consumer protection and advertising laws, while monitoring emerging AI legislation and regulatory guidance.
- Monitoring: Assess vendor AI tools before use and monitor them over time for security vulnerabilities, inaccurate outputs, performance issues, unfair bias and unintended outcomes.
- Agentic Accountability: Establish defined authority and approval thresholds for AI agents. Agents should be identifiable, operate within agreed permissions and remain subject to meaningful human oversight, monitoring and intervention.

3

- Talent Augmentation: Use AI to expand human potential and create new opportunities for people across the advertising industry. Invest in training, reskilling and responsible change management so employees can work effectively with AI and build the skills needed to succeed as the industry evolves.
- Ethical Integrity & Social Benefit: AI applications should be socially beneficial and tested for safety. Continually monitor and evaluate AI use for negative impacts, ensuring applications adhere strictly to the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.

4

- IP Respect & Publisher Sustainability: Respect intellectual property rights and support the sustainability of publishers and other content creators. Align with emerging industry initiatives, including IAB Tech Lab’s Content Monetization Protocols, to give publishers and creators meaningful control over how AI systems access, use and monetize their content.
- Brand Safety & Suitability: Assess and mitigate brand, consumer and reputational risks arising from AI-generated content and AI-driven media placement. Ensure AI systems, partners and placements align with agreed brand values, suitability standards and safety controls.
- Programmatic Quality: Guard against AI misuse in programmatic channels, such as the large-scale creation of poor-quality clickbait on Made for Advertising (MFA) sites.
- Environmental Stewardship: Assess and seek to minimize the environmental impact of generative AI. Where practical, select fit-for-purpose, energy-efficient tools.

The CMDC Responsible AI Pledge

The Responsible AI Pledge is an industry-wide advocacy pledge dedicated to creating a safer, more transparent media ecosystem for everyone. Open to agencies, marketers, media owners, and technology partners alike, signing this pledge demonstrates your leadership's verified commitment to the framework, driving shared governance, brand safety, and data security across the entire Canadian advertising landscape.

The CMDC AI Council brings together senior leaders from across Canada’s media agencies to help shape a responsible, transparent and future-ready approach to AI in advertising.

Developed through industry collaboration and informed by Canadian and global advertising industry best practices, the principles can support internal policies, client-agency alignment, procurement, training and disclosure. As AI technology and regulation evolve, CMDC will continue to review and update the framework with input from industry leaders, policymakers and experts.