AI (more accurately, machine learning) is a paradigm shift in the marketing and communications industry. Tools like Grammarly, SEMrush, and predictive text have become everyday essentials for marketers.

Until recently, there wasn’t much debate about whether to use these tools; everyone just did. Suddenly briefs and first drafts were being produced by AI, often before a clear policy had been put in place. The conversation was more about which tools worked best.

But with the rapid growth of generative AI tools, the landscape has changed. We’re no longer just talking about convenience or efficiency, we’re having to factor in ethical AI considerations. Now, the real question is: how do we use AI ethically and responsibly?

It’s no longer a question if we use AI, it’s a matter of how we use it.

At Avion, we’re passionate about upskilling in emerging technologies in a practical and human-centred way. Recently, we’ve been exploring:

What does it mean to use AI responsibly?
How can we use AI while preserving the quality of our work?
How can agencies build trust with clients when using AI for certain tasks?

Key takeaways

With increased AI adoption across all sectors it’s important that a framework is developed for ethical use of AI.
Getting your team together to build your AI usage policy can ensure all ethical considerations are accounted for.
It’s important to make sure you define how AI is to be used in the workplace before you begin using it.
Share your AI usage policy with your customers and stakeholders once it’s created – this will show you’re being transparent about it.
Continue to share your learnings about AI with your team so you’re up to date on current trends and developments.

What to include in your AI usage policy

We believe that ethical AI usage isn’t just about compliance. It’s about setting a standard that helps everyone do their best work while ensuring alignment of expectations across teams. That’s why we have an internal AI usage policy that all employees are required to sign off on.

Without a set and well-defined AI usage policy you’re at risk of AI being misused. This can range from small issues like incorrect formatting and grammatical gremlins, through to larger issues like breaching confidentiality by feeding the AI sensitive information. A clear AI usage policy ensures that all employees and your clients know how AI is to be used, and why.

Avion is not a provider of legal advice. However, here are some overarching principles that we’ve included in our AI policy that might inspire your next steps.

Responsibility: putting confidentiality and trust first

We have a commitment to protecting client data and never enter it into public AI tools. AI is only used when necessary and in alignment with a client’s policies. This approach prevents us from breaching confidentiality, as well as reducing risks to our clients and ourselves

We also believe in transparency, and this means being honest about how AI may be used in client projects. (If we do use AI as part of our work, every output is reviewed and refined by our experienced copywriters – more on this below.)

Implementation: creating human-centric and ethical AI practices

AI is a powerful tool, but it will never replace human expertise, or the nuances of human-created communication. We follow a human-in-the-loop (HITL) approach, where AI plays a supporting role.

This means we only use AI to assist with tasks that may help the content creation process. All final outputs and strategic thinking remain firmly in human hands. Our content writers always remain in control.

If AI is used to facilitate our work, here are our team’s most common applications.

Using generative AI for early-stage content planning.

Brainstorming topics and potential outlines to work with
Checking for similar content already published by competitors
Identifying gaps and opportunities in content briefs.

Using generative AI to interpret complex ideas.

Summarising key points from publicly available reports
Finding simple ways to explain unknown or complicated concepts
Searching for answers quickly within lengthy documents (i.e. terms and conditions).

Using generative AI to conduct valid research.

Fact-checking statements and claims
Finding up-to-date research from credible sources
Discovering what the industry is saying about a particular topic.

Using generative AI to refine human-written content.

Exploring different options for tone of voice
Asking for suggestions on how to improve a readability score
Converting Australian to US spelling and grammar (and vice versa).

We know that AI is constantly evolving, and new platforms are being released frequently. At Avion we continually look out for new tools and trends. Once we gain new information we adapt our approach and discuss these as a team. This not only helps us individually as content professionals, but it ensures we have time to regularly reflect on our AI use, so it continues to meet the needs of the agency and our clients.

Avion’s commitment: people before technology

Our ethos is simple: people come first. ChatGPT will never have the same ability to “feel” the way we do. Our content strategists and copywriters do more than just write for tone of voice, we:

get to know the audience
do our best to empathise with what they’re going through, we
try to understand their needs
follow their experience across a website or multiple channels.

Avion’s AI governance policy development process

So how did we develop our AI policy? We started as we always do, with collaboration.

Our first step in developing our policy was a workshop. Team members shared how they were already using AI, alongside ethical considerations. We explored what would work best for our clients, and how we could find the right balance between what humans and AI do best.

Then we moved onto drafting the policy. We consolidated the team’s input before presenting it for further discussion and feedback and making it official.

Team workshop: discuss current AI practices and ethical considerations

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Policy draft: consolidate insights and draft the policy

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Team feedback: share the draft for review and refine collaboratively

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Finalisation: publish the policy and socialise it with the team

Practical tips for creating your own AI policy for work

If you’re looking to implement an AI policy for your team, here are a few activities we’ve found helpful:

Define your core principles: Identify your ethical stance on data protection and transparency, and factor that into your thinking as you decide AI’s role in your business.
Set boundaries: Outline where and how AI can be used, emphasising HITL workflows, and avoiding sensitive data input into public tools.
Communicate clearly: Ensure your team and clients understand your policy, why it matters, and how it’s implemented.
Collaborate and evolve: Engage your team in discussions, gather feedback, and update the policy as technology and business needs change. Your policy must evolve just as the technology does.

Learn more about our commitment to AI ethics and governance

At Avion we’re excited by the role AI will play in the future of content creation. As you can see, we’re already taking steps to remain industry leaders in its utilisation as a collaborative tool.

When you work with us you get human-centred strategies and content produced by humans. Speak to us today to set up a meeting about improving your content strategy, or to learn more about how we use AI.