Why Our Agency has an AI Policy

By Lance Lemen, VP, Director of Operations

I get it. Great, another blog post about artificial intelligence. At this point, if you’re anything like us, you’re sick of hearing about AI and how it’s going to terminate our jobs and eventually the world. (Spoiler alert, it’s not.) Like it or not, AI and LLMs (large language models) are here and are getting more and more integrated into our jobs and our lives so it’s worth taking a moment to focus on how to do so smoothly.

At UPBrand, we’re a confident copilot for our client partners. We take a Recklessly Responsible approach, which means taking smart risks with the right knowledge. There is risk in everything we all do – and that includes doing nothing at all – but we can minimize those risks by rooting actions in strategic insights. We’re big believers that the greatest solutions are products of processing discovery, observation and experience.

As a brand’s copilot, part of our role is cooperative exploration. Yes, AI could be overhyped in this early phase. But, if we’re dismissive of all that it can do for us just because of a collective yawn anytime the innocent letters A and I are combined then UPBrand is not fulfilling our end of the cooperative relationship. A copilot isn’t only along for the journey – we’re innovating along the way for the optimal experience. We’re creators of original ideas and actions, which is something LLMs cannot do. This is where generative AI becomes a complementary tool for input and informed risk-taking, and it’s a tool we want to harness to make ourselves better.

As we talk about AI and risk-taking, that is exactly why we’ve created an AI policy at UPBrand. This policy is both an expectations guide and a commitment. At a high level it explains to our clients how we use AI, how it affects their work and how we protect their data. It’s a layer of transparency regarding a topic that can be anything but transparent. It’s important that we’re leveraging innovative tools and enhancing our creative processes – but not at the expense of trust, relationships or unique work.

This ability for us to explore openly is another benefit of being an independent agency. Not only are we more nimble and more invested than larger marketing agencies, but we’re also able to experiment with new technologies–such as AI–without a holding company blocking potentially revolutionary software. An AI policy allows us to fully test new tools in their infancy so we can offer more to our clients faster.

Here's an overview of our policy explaining how our clients, and also our team, can expect UPBrand to approach AI as the technology currently stands. (For specific ways we actively use AI to enhance our processes and work, here’s a quick list.)

• Output Usage: We limit AI’s use to non-final creative outputs (e.g. conceptual comps) – unless explicitly discussed with and approved by the client.
• Exploration & Concept Development: AI-generated outputs are only a starting point for human refinement and creativity, similar to how we use other software tools to bring ideas and concepts to life.
• Quality Review: All content generated by AI will be carefully checked to avoid unintended bias and misinformation. Any AI-assisted work must align with UPBrand’s standards of quality and creativity, as well with our client’s expectations.
• Transparency & Ethics: AI tools are used transparently within the team so all members are aware when AI has been applied. They will not be used to create misleading or deceptive content, reflecting our own ethics and ideals.
• Protection & Privacy: We will follow developments in AI regulations, especially as related to copyright and fair use of data. UPBrand will never input sensitive or private client information into generative AI tools without prior approval. Also, UPBrand is not responsible for any unknown copyright infringement due to AI's output.
• Continuous Improvement: Regular assessments of our AI tools are conducted to ensure they’re continuing to meet our quality standards and ethical guidelines.

As with everything–from our project process to our stance on the office’s temperature  – this policy will continually evolve as we learn and experience more. We would encourage you to adopt some of your own policies around any emerging technologies that could affect the landscape of your industry. Have you developed your own AI policies, whether formal or informal? We would love to hear how other advertising agencies and industries are also implementing artificial intelligence to improve their output.

Thank you for your time and I’ll be back 👍.

*This article was written entirely by carbon-based lifeforms, without influence from AI. (Hey, I told you we practice AI transparency!)