Wild Bridge

For some of us, AI ethics is the broccoli on the plate.   It’s an unwelcome necessity, a compliance exercise, and a way to stay out of trouble.    

But I would encourage you to consider this differently.  AI ethics can be the key ingredient in your secret sauce.  It can help build trust, connect with customers, and convert consumers into passionate advocates. 

While more difficult to do, when approached thoughtfully, AI ethics becomes the superfood capable of elevating your brand and sharpening your competitive edge.

According to a study by the Capgemini Research Institute in 2019: 62% of consumers placed a higher trust in a company whose AI interactions they perceived as ethical.  Additionally, 59% said they would be more loyal to such a company, and 55% indicated they would purchase more products and provide positive feedback on social media.   Your customers may not care which specific Large Language Model you use, but studies like this suggest their buying decisions are strongly influenced by your ability to articulate and be guided by an ethical use of AI.   

How can you make your own secret sauce?

You should be prepared to experiment and see what works best for your organisation. Colonel Sanders spent several years experimenting with different combinations before landing on his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. Similarly, brands such as Microsoft, Google and Meta have spent years evolving their approach to AI ethics. Here are three key steps to get you going on your journey to create your own secret sauce.

Step 1: Define your ethical compass

Think of it as choosing the flavour of your secret sauce.  In AI terms, this means defining what ethical means to your company, not just in theory, but in practice and through concrete choices.  Your ethical compass articulates your vision of AI ethics that is specific for your organisation, your priorities, and which reflect the sentiments of your customers. 

For example, a health tech company might focus heavily on data privacy and informed consent.  A retail platform might prioritise algorithmic fairness and non-discrimination in recommendations.   

If you rely heavily on AI-generated content or are introducing AI chatbots, it’s worth noting the findings of the IPA and Opinium Survey, conducted in 2023: 74% of consumers believe brands should be transparent about AI-generated content, and 75% want to be notified when they’re not speaking with a human.

Of course, not all AI use needs to be flagged. If a restaurant uses AI to experiment with new recipes or write quirky menu descriptions, customers may not mind. But if a customer is talking to an AI about changing their phone contract, disclosure might matter more.

Attitudes towards AI will inevitably shift over time. As AI becomes normalised, it may not always be necessary to announce its presence. So treat your ethical compass as something dynamic.

Defining it must include voices from across the organisation. This is not a compliance or legal formality (it’s not broccoli). It requires visible leadership from the CEO and the senior team.

Once you’ve set your ethical direction, you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2: Tell a good brand story

Your branding strategy must weave this ethical compass into every message and touchpoint.  Ethics must become part of your story, not a footnote or a disclaimer.

Take Dove, the personal care brand owned by Unilever.  In 2024, they publicly committed to never using AI-generated images of women in their campaigns.  This decision was rooted in their findings that such images often perpetuate stereotypes and contribute to unrealistic beauty standards.  This is a strong example of brand storytelling, rooted in Dove’s ethical compass, and thus setting them apart in a highly competitive market.    

If your ethical compass is your vision, and your vision points to your destination, then make it part of your public journey.  Tell the world where you’re headed, how you plan to get there and the progress you’ve made so far.

Step 3: Get strategic

How will you bring to life the vision you set in your ethical compass?  In many ways, the same principles you apply to other areas of strategic planning should apply here too.  For instance, using an OKR framework can help set clear objectives and track them against defined key results.  Importantly, whatever framework you use, begin taking measurable, goal-orientated, initiatives towards embedding AI ethics in your brand. 

Reframe AI ethics

These three steps are just the beginning, and there’s much more you would need to do.  For example, you’ll need to consider operationalising your strategy, perhaps with an ethics committee. 

However, my primary intention in this article is to present a positive attitude to AI ethics, rather than one that is rooted in fear and compliance.  Yes, there is fear.  Ethical missteps in AI can have long-lasting effects on your brand. To this day, for example, Meta’s brand is still affected by the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018, and the company is still battling a reputation for being too relaxed with data and privacy. 

But if you can reframe ethical AI as an opportunity and a way to strengthen your value proposition, then you’re on the path to cooking up your own sought-after secret sauce: a delicate blend of trust, purpose, respect, and competitive edge that will transform relationships with your customers and fuel meaningful growth.