Advertising must build trust, not just reach: I&B Secy Sanjay Jaju

Flagging both the transformative potential and emerging risks of artificial intelligence in advertising, Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said the industry must prioritise trust and accountability as it scales.

Speaking at an ASCI event, Jaju said AI is already influencing “every stage of the advertising value chain,” including audience analytics, campaign planning, personalised targeting, multilingual adaptations, creative generation, media optimisation and fraud detection.

He noted that these capabilities are improving productivity and lowering barriers for smaller players. Startups and local businesses, he said, can now generate multiple campaign variants and region-specific creatives at a speed and cost that was “not possible earlier,” potentially making the ecosystem more inclusive and participative.

However, he cautioned that the same tools are also enabling new forms of deception at scale. Referring to deepfakes, synthetic identities and fabricated endorsements, Jaju said the risks go beyond misleading content to making such content appear credible.

“The danger is that AI can make misleading content look authentic. Advertising must build trust, not just reach,” he said.

He added that the “line between legitimate persuasion and engineered deception is becoming thinner,” making it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish between genuine and manipulated communication.

Jaju also raised concerns around the growing misuse of digital advertising channels for frauds and scams, including fake investment schemes, loan frauds and employment scams. He noted that such activities are often amplified through social media ads, sponsored posts, messaging groups and fabricated platforms, and tend to target vulnerable users by exploiting anxieties around jobs, income and financial security.

In addition, he pointed to the role of offshore-origin advertising in enabling such frauds, stating that many operations function across jurisdictions and would require coordinated responses across law enforcement, platform governance and regulatory systems.

He reiterated concerns around betting and gambling promotions, including surrogate advertising, particularly those impacting younger audiences, and said advisories have been issued to media entities in this regard.

On regulation, Jaju said advertising in India is governed by a complex mix of constitutional principles, consumer protection laws, platform rules and sectoral regulations, where a single advertisement may fall under multiple frameworks. He noted that efforts to create a clearer understanding of this landscape would help reduce uncertainty and support compliance.

Outlining the way forward, Jaju emphasised key principles for responsible advertising, including truthfulness, transparency, responsibility in design and delivery, protection of vulnerable groups such as children, and ensuring that innovation is accompanied by accountability.

Our approach is going to be pro-trust, pro-growth, and pro-responsibility, Jaju said.

He emphasised that as the industry adopts AI, data-driven marketing and immersive formats, it must ensure that systems strengthen consumer trust rather than erode it. Calling on advertisers, agencies and creators to embed compliance into their workflows, Jaju said credibility should remain central to brand-building in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.