Artificial intelligence is changing the way businesses create, publish and manage their marketing content. It is making many everyday tasks faster and more accessible, but it is also raising important questions about ownership, consent and the use of material published online.
Hellomint founder Nicola Mellor joined BBC Radio Leeds to discuss these issues and share some practical ways businesses can help protect their original content.
The conversation followed a BBC News report highlighting the challenges created as AI becomes increasingly capable of finding, reproducing and repurposing material from across the internet.
AI has become part of everyday business
AI itself is not new, but public use has grown rapidly in recent years. Tools that were once largely used by technology companies are now available to almost anyone.
Businesses can use AI to generate ideas, draft content, analyse information and support the scheduling of social media activity. Used responsibly, it can be a genuinely valuable tool. However, its rapid adoption also means that businesses need to think more carefully about what they publish and how their original work could be used by others.
Photographs, videos, written articles, designs and other brand assets can all be copied or repurposed. AI tools have made this quicker and easier, while also making it more difficult to distinguish between genuine content and material that has been artificially created or altered.
Can businesses prevent their content from being used by AI?
There is currently no single measure that can guarantee complete protection once content has been published publicly online. Watermarks, website restrictions and platform settings can all help, but each has limitations.
The most sensible approach is to introduce several layers of protection and ensure the business can demonstrate when and how its original content was created.
Practical steps businesses can take
1. Keep original copies
Retain the original, high-resolution versions of photographs, videos, graphics and written documents. Keep project files where possible, along with their creation dates and relevant correspondence.
This provides useful evidence of ownership if content is copied, altered or used without permission.
2. Use considered branding
Logos and watermarks can discourage casual copying, particularly on photographs and videos. They should be placed carefully so that they cannot simply be cropped out without affecting the image.
Placing photographs within a recognisable branded design can provide an additional layer of protection, although it should not be treated as a complete safeguard.
3. Review platform settings and terms
Social media platforms and creative tools regularly update their terms, privacy controls and AI-related settings. Businesses should review these periodically rather than assuming that their original choices will remain in place indefinitely.
Pay particular attention to settings concerning the use of uploaded material for the development or improvement of AI systems.
4. Add clear terms to your website
A copyright notice and clear website terms can explain that photographs, copy and other original materials must not be reproduced, adapted or used for AI training without permission.
This may not technically prevent access to the content, but it makes the business’s position much clearer if misuse occurs.
5. Monitor important content
Reverse-image searches, brand alerts and regular searches for distinctive wording can help identify unauthorised use. Businesses should prioritise their most valuable assets, such as product photography, campaign imagery and original research.
If content has been copied, keep screenshots and records of where it appeared before contacting the website owner or platform.
6. Be careful with confidential information
Employees should understand which AI tools they are permitted to use and what information must never be entered into them. Client details, commercially sensitive information and unpublished work should not be uploaded to public AI services without the appropriate permission and safeguards.
A simple internal AI policy can help create consistency across a business.
Finding a sensible balance
Avoiding AI entirely is neither practical nor necessary for most businesses. The more useful approach is to understand both its potential and its limitations.
AI can support marketing, but it still needs human judgement, reliable source material and appropriate checks. Businesses also need clear processes covering ownership, confidentiality, accuracy and approval.
The discussion on BBC Radio Leeds was a timely reminder that content protection should now form part of a wider digital marketing strategy. Businesses may not be able to eliminate every risk, but they can make their work more difficult to misuse and put themselves in a stronger position to respond when problems arise.
Read the original story on BBC News
If your business needs help developing a responsible and practical approach to social media, content creation or the use of AI in marketing, please contact hellomint.
