Ethical artificial intelligence adoption in marketing teams: The FAIR framework

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools, from generative copywriting assistants to predictive analytics engines, are transforming how marketing teams operate. As marketers increasingly rely on these technologies to automate content creation, accelerate campaign execution and personalise outreach at scale, ethical considerations often fall to the wayside amid rapid market adoption. While much of the existing discourse on AI ethics focuses on product development or data governance, there remains a critical lack of guidance for marketing teams that use AI internally to shape their day-to-day decision making and external brand presence. This paper will address that ethical gap by introducing FAIR, a practical ethical framework informed by applied marketing experience and wider principles drawn from traditions in applied ethical theory. The framework emphasises four core values: focus on intent, accountable teams, informed consent and responsible scaling. Drawing from real-world use cases and research, the paper presents five actionable best practices in ethical AI using the FAIR method. Together, the framework and practices will form a practical guide for marketing leaders, content strategists and operations teams seeking to adopt AI responsibly within marketing teams while grounding work in organisational integrity and human-centred ethical evaluation. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.