• by Michael Shmarak , May 1, 2026

I recently started the difficult process of transitioning my mother into senior living. For anyone who has been down this road, you can appreciate how many memories are found in parents‘ basements, attics and desk drawers.

One of those memories was a 1970s-ish copy of Good Housekeeping, the venerable magazine that Mom used to find recipes, to learn about new products and to share issues with other homemakers. As I reviewed the magazine, I saw an appliance that had the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval attached to it.

You may recall that the emblem was as good as gold if it were affixed to products. It was as strong of an accreditation as it was good PR because the Good Housekeeping Institute Good would validate a product for its quality -- and even offer a two-year limited warranty if the product proved defective.

The principles of safety, quality and performance matter to everything that marketers do. We are judged by the returns on investment we bring, but we are equally judged by the strategies needed to attain them. And at a time that all of us are challenged with the opportunities that artificial intelligence has afforded us, could Mom’s old magazines hold the key for managing artificial intelligence guardrails?

AI Has Gotten Sloppy

The Internet could use a colonic because of AI slop. No matter if we are connected to either paid, owned or earned media, legitimacy is being challenged.

AI has been operating as if it were the Wild West, and we need a new sheriff in town. While courts and regulators around the globe will undoubtedly be busy debating these sorts of cases, marketers can take the proverbial bull by the horns and create their own “seals of approval” processes and systems. Among the ideas I have been sharing in different scenarios:

Cite AI usage as if it were part of a bibliography. List AI prompts and platforms that guided a piece of work. Demonstrate to your audience that you don’t know everything, and that you used AI to fill in some of the gaps.

Create an AI badge validating where and how AI is used. Let’s face it–you cannot change everyone’s minds. But people are more inclined to follow professionals whose sources are real and verified. 

Embrace humans who work for you. I remind myself that humans program technology. Organizations are driven by people who have feelings, ideas and insights. Leverage them when determining AI utilization policies.

Create policies focused on radical disclosure -- and put them in employee handbooks. Bring together a team of HR, legal and operations professionals to understand the effects of how AI is properly or improperly used.

Inevitably, we will reach a point of accepted norms of where and how AI is used, but guardrails are needed. For me? I am proud to say I learned a thing or two from my mom.

Disclosure: No artificial intelligence platforms or engines were used to write this article.