ASCI’s new draft rules aim to curb misleading AI-generated advertising content
Advertising Standards Council of India on Tuesday released draft guidelines for the labelling of AI-generated content in advertising, outlining when disclosures would be required for synthetically created or enhanced material.
The proposed framework is aligned with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, amended on February 10, and aims to improve transparency in advertising while avoiding what ASCI described as “consumer label fatigue around synthetically-generated information.”
The guidelines adopt what ASCI called a “risk-based approach,” focusing on the impact of AI-generated content on consumers rather than regulating the technology itself.
According to the draft, the use of AI in advertising would be considered misleading or harmful if it creates “unfulfillable expectations, exploits vulnerable populations, depicts unsafe situations, or replicates a real person’s likeness without consent.”
74% professionals acknowledge the need to adapt AI skills for jobs
A new report by Randstad Digital says that while AI adoption is rising across industries, workforce skills are not keeping pace, creating a widening gap between technology investment and employee readiness.
The AI Capability Gap: Why Technology Investment Fails Without Talent Infrastructure report highlights what it calls a growing ‘AI Productivity Paradox,’ where efficiency gains at task level are not translating into broader business outcomes due to persistent skills shortages and rising operational complexity.
The report says that ‘learning velocity,’ or how quickly organisations can reskill and adapt employees, will be central to future competitiveness. It also stresses continuous upskilling, personalised learning and ‘Training as a Service’ as key elements for building AI-ready workforces.
Among the key findings, the report notes that 63% of employers globally invested in AI training over the past year, with IT services and telecom sectors leading workforce transformation efforts.
WhatsApp Launches Business AI With Automated Customer Support for Small Businesses in India
WhatsApp has announced a new feature aimed at providing customer support using artificial intelligence (AI). Dubbed Business AI, it is being introduced within the WhatsApp Business app. As per the Meta-owned platform, Business AI can help businesses automate customer interactions, respond to queries around the clock, and drive sales. It does not require any additional software or third-party tools. Business AI supports all native Indian languages and is geared towards small and medium-sized businesses.
WhatsApp Business AI Features, Availability
According to Meta, Business AI on WhatsApp can be customised using a business’s own information, including product catalogues and profile details. Once set up, the AI assistant can automatically respond to customer queries related to products, pricing, discounts, shipping, appointments, and services.
The feature will soon get support for UPI payments within WhatsApp chats, too. Businesses will additionally be able to manually take over conversations whenever required, particularly in cases involving complex or personalised customer requests.
YouTube publishes brand growth playbook
YouTube published a new playbook for brand growth, which aims to help businesses better understand the fundamentals of the modern YouTube creator marketplace, and how marketers can tap into this ecosystem to enhance their efforts.
The 6-page guide covers the basics of building a brand in the app, as well as how to connect with YouTube audiences, who are often in discovery mode, according to the company.
Per the guide:
- YouTube is the number one platform that viewers turn to when they want to research, vet, or make a decision about a brand, product, or service.
- In the U.S., 78% of viewers said YouTube had the most trusted creators for product recommendations.
- In addition, 40% of YouTube video views happen more than 30 days after a video goes live.
So not only can YouTube content drive purchase decisions, but YouTube content also has a long shelf life, meaning that the best-performing clips will keep producing for brands after publishing.
In addition to these notes, YouTube said the platform also drives 86% higher incremental long-term ROAS than paid social, on average.
Amazon Enables LinkedIn CTV Ads Through its DSP
Amazon has partnered with LinkedIn to bring CTV ads into its Demand-Side Platform (DSP), allowing advertisers to run CTV campaigns using LinkedIn audience targeting inside Amazon’s programmatic system.
U.S. advertisers who already use Amazon DSP for programmatic media buying can now extend those campaigns into connected TV placements while applying LinkedIn audience targeting signals.
How LinkedIn CTV Ads Work Inside Amazon DSP
The setup brings LinkedIn’s professional audience data into Amazon DSP’s connected TV inventory. Instead of running CTV ads separately through traditional TV or streaming deals, advertisers can now manage it through the same programmatic workflow they already use in Amazon DSP.
Within Amazon DSP, advertisers can now access LinkedIn’s CTV ad inventory and apply LinkedIn audience targeting to streaming TV campaigns. The process stays inside Amazon’s buying system, meaning advertisers do not need to shift platforms to access LinkedIn’s CTV placements. Campaign planning, targeting, and activation all happen through Amazon DSP, while LinkedIn provides the audience signals used for targeting.
Amazon DSP becomes the control channel, while LinkedIn provides the audience definition used for ad delivery on connected TV screens.
OpenAI rolls out ‘Trusted Contact’ feature in ChatGPT to flag self-harm risks
OpenAI has begun rolling out Trusted Contact, an optional safety feature in ChatGPT. This feature allows adults to nominate a trusted person, such as a friend, family member, or caregiver, who may be notified if the automated system and trained human reviewers detect that “the enrolled person has discussed self-harm in a way that indicates a serious safety concern”.
The feature became available on May 7, 2026, to ChatGPT users aged 18 and older worldwide and 19 and older in South Korea. Trusted Contact is available for eligible users with personal ChatGPT accounts in supported regions. It is not available for Business, enterprise, or Edu workspaces. OpenAI has stated it will continue expanding availability over the coming weeks.
How It Works: To activate the feature, users select a trusted contact in their ChatGPT settings. ChatGPT sends this person an invitation by email, SMS, WhatsApp, or in-app message, outlining their role. The contact must accept the invitation to participate.
AI delivers business impact for 85% of marketers
Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) India released The AI Marketing Maturity Study, a first-of-its-kind benchmarking report developed with EY as Knowledge Partner and in association with Mobavenue AI Tech Limited.
Spanning 60+ senior marketing leaders across 11+ industry verticals, the study delivers the most rigorous, data-backed assessment of AI integration in Indian marketing to date, moving the conversation decisively from theory to measurable business impact.
The report benchmarks AI maturity across four critical marketing functions: Creative & Content; Measurement & Insights; Propensity Modeling; and Customer & Sales Journeys. It is designed to help brand and marketing leaders pivot from experimentation to always-on, strategic AI adoption, and to identify precisely where investment, alignment, and capability-building are needed most.
Commenting on the report, Moneka Khurana, Country Head and Board Member, MMA India says: “The danger with AI today is that just using it is not enough its about using it to create real business impact for which it needs to move to the centre of the system hence the AI marketing maturity study is designed to identify trends in AI use cases, which have evolved beyond experimentation and delivering business impact and seek inspiration to move up the ladder”
The Wrap
“That wraps up our May 12th update. As we navigate new draft rules from ASCI and see 85% of Indian marketers finding real business impact through AI, one thing is clear: the balance between creative innovation and consumer trust is the new North Star.
And finally, we are thrilled to share that our campaign for Tata Power, ‘Tanvi The Great,’ has won a Gold in the Best Use of Branded Content category at the Montreux Festival! It’s a proud moment for the team to see this story of neurodiversity gain global recognition.
I’m your host, signing off. Keep leading the curve and stay ahead.“
