Artificial Intelligence Guidelines in Marketing and Communications

Background and Context

With the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, AI as a business tool has seen a surge in availability and usage.

These guidelines are for university employees as they may engage in communications and marketing tasks on behalf of the university. They are not intended to govern other areas of the University such as education and classroom settings, IT, or chatbots. They apply to AI tools used to generate content, such as images, text, music, and video.

The Office of Marketing and Communications has the primary responsibility for managing, advancing and protecting the University’s brand and reputation. As such, it oversees the use of AI content used in marketing materials to ensure the brand’s integrity. 

Guiding Principles

The marketing and communications approach and framework to designing, building, and using AI tools responsibly.

  • AI can only reach its full potential when it is paired with human expertise and ingenuity.
  • AI should have a human-centered approach that empowers and assists professionals. 
  • AI-generated work should never be presented as the work of a human.
  • Transparency in AI usage is essential to maintain the trust of our audiences and stakeholders. When AI is used to generate content, the person using the AI tool should inform their supervisor and others involved in the project. It should be clear how the tool was used (e.g. to generate ideas, draft text, revise, translate into another language, etc.).
  • Ethical usage of AI is an absolute requirement. Humans remain accountable for all decisions and actions, even when assisted by AI. 
  • Generative AI technology should never be used to deceive or spread misinformation.
  • Verifying the accuracy of information supplied by AI is necessary. Appropriate steps should be taken to ensure accuracy in all AI-generated content, including independently verifying all facts.
  • AI generated materials have a high probability of capturing the copyrighted material of another person. Therefore, all users must take great care to assure that the final product of any AI generated material has been carefully reviewed, and where necessary modified, to avoid plagiarism.

Examples of Acceptable Use of AI

The University encourages the exploration of – and familiarization with – generative AI tools and how their integration can enhance productivity, strategy, and communication. Embracing AI in our work will enable us to better adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape.

AI is a fast-moving, fast-changing area of technology that continues to grow and evolve, therefore attempting to categorize all use cases would be impossible. The following examples and guidelines are meant to provide a framework for understanding the acceptable usage and benefits of AI within the scope of your work.

  • Brainstorming: Use AI to help with idea generation, alternate perspectives, and feedback on existing content.
  • Outline creation: Use AI to organize ideas into a cohesive structure.
  • Editorial planning: Use AI to plan your content and social media calendars.
  • Headers, headlines, and navigation: Use AI tools to identify common themes and provide suggestions for headlines, website headers, tags, etc.
  • Search engine optimization (SEO): Use AI tools to assist with keyword research, suggestions, and optimization.
  • Social media posts: Use AI tools to draft concepts for social media posts, however AI generated content may not be used for social media content unless it follows all brand and legal requirements of this policy and is approved by University Marketing and Communications.  
  • Research support: Use AI tools to quickly learn about a concept or topic. Remember, AI tools have been known to “hallucinate,” or fabricate information, so a human must verify all facts, research, and information.
  • Personalization: Use AI tools to rework content for different audiences, such as students, staff, faculty, donors, or the media.
  • Productivity: Use AI tools to help with routine tasks such as transcript summarization, data analysis, presentation drafting, etc.

This is not an all-inclusive list, and recommendations may change as technology, regulations, and policies change. The University will monitor developments and will update, as necessary.

Prohibited Use of AI

The use of AI tools must never be used in such a way as to violate existing University standards or policies. This includes, but is not limited to, the creation of false communications, logo/image integrity, brand consistency and authenticity.

As AI tools are not encrypted or private, information introduced has the potential to become public and an unplanned part of a promptable knowledge base. Thus, one should never enter proprietary data, protected information about students, employees, patients, or other constituents that could violate state or federal privacy laws, including HIPPAA, FERPA, or applicable University or University of Louisiana System policies.

AI is a tool and should never be used to create entire pieces of written content. Uses such as brainstorming, draft messaging, grammar and punctuation assistance, and scheduling are among the tasks accepted for use. Completely AI-generated content is prohibited.

Empowering AI to fact-check material is prohibited. While AI can be an excellent research assistance tool, AI has been known to “hallucinate” and suggest facts and sources that may be misleading and not entirely accurate. Human analysis is central to all elements of research, content creation and content review.

Images, music, audio, and video generated by AI are not to be used in university communications materials. This includes AI created posters, flyers, pictures, newsletters,completed social media posts, and other creative avenues. AI may be used to help brainstorm art ideas and direction but may not generate the final product.