AI washing
AI washing is claiming a product uses AI, or uses more of it than it does, to make it sound smarter or newer than it is.
AI washing is overstating how much AI a product or service uses. A company calls its feature "AI-powered" when it's a set of fixed rules, or says it uses AI when people do the work by hand. The name borrows from greenwashing, where companies overstate how green they are.
It's tempting because "AI" sells. It's risky because people notice, and so do regulators.
Regulators are paying attention
In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission used the term in March 2024 when it charged two investment advisers over false statements about their use of AI. Later that year, the Federal Trade Commission announced Operation AI Comply, a set of cases against companies making misleading AI claims. Its point was simple: there's no exception to the usual rules on honest advertising just because the claim is about AI.
How to talk about AI honestly
A few questions help before you put "AI" in your marketing:
- What exactly does the AI do in the product? Can you say it in one sentence?
- Would a customer notice if you took it out?
- Could you show someone how it works, if they asked?
For example, Harrow & Pine's website says its furniture finder is "powered by AI." In fact, it's a quiz with five questions and fixed answers. Calling it a quiz is accurate and still useful. Calling it AI invites a question it can't answer well.
Why it matters for AI answers
What you say about yourself ends up in the answers. If your site makes big AI claims, the platforms may repeat them to customers. When a review or a news story then says the claims don't hold up, the platforms may repeat that too, and it's harder to undo.