The Federal Trade Commission has published a blog warning marketers that it considers the phrase "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" to be a "marketing term," meaning that it is subject to the same restriction when used as other marketing terms.
The warning attempts to ensure that companies are not overusing or abusing the term for a marketing advantage and misrepresenting their product's capabilities or the technology powering their services.
- The FTC specifically mentions a growing trend of using AI to inflate prices or justify labor decisions.
- Michael Atelson, an attorney at the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices, said that cracking down on the false use of marketing terms is FTC's "bread and butter" and that the FTC has experts that will look "under the hood" and ensure that any company claiming that they use AI is using technology that the FTC would consider to be AI.
- The FTC also specifically warned that having an AI tool in the development process of a product does not mean that the end product is an AI product and that the FTC will enforce this distinction.
