• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 15, 2025

The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) has launched a certification program for media organizations.

The project developed guidelines to help publishers and agencies to implement responsible, transparent AI practices that build trust with readers and advertisers.

The guidelines focus on transparency, accountability and ethical oversight. 

AAM also released a new report -- Ethical AI in Action: Eight Pillars for Transparent, Accountable AI Implementation in Media – as a companion to the certification.

AAM working groups were formed last year and have been instrumental in providing feedback for new initiatives, but spent several months creating the certification after hearing feedback from publishers, brands and agencies, according to Kevin Rehberg, AAM's vice president of client development.

Rehberg says feedback also guided areas where members needed best practices and the most help. Although there were guidelines to implement AI for businesses in general, there was nothing specific to media companies. This process resulted in eight key areas that became the basis of the certification.

AAM will present the eight pillars for ethical AI this week at Mega-Conference and the upcoming Audience Development Media Alliance conference.

Other educational resources in addition to the report are in the works and will roll out this spring and summer.

Certified companies will receive the AAM seal to include on their websites and promotional materials, Rehberg said.

The organization believes there is an ongoing need for third-party verification in the industry.

This certification is one of several new initiatives that AAM must implement to foster a media system built on transparency and accountability.

AAM agency members want more validated publishers across channels, so the organization is working on adding additional information to its database.

Last year, the AAM launched a solution to independently evaluate digital inventory. While still in beta, the tool helps media buyers select their preferred signals to find premium media and develop inclusion lists. 

AAM also has a robust assurance unit that performs audits for industry certification programs such as IAB Tech Lab, Point of Care Marketing Association, and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG).

This assurance team helped develop the AAM Ethical AI Certification and will be announcing new programs this year.