1. Home
2. News

ASA: 48% of alcohol-free ads could be breaking rules

The findings show that 96% of adverts from alcohol advertisers are likely to be in line with the rules around advertising. Meanwhile 1-3% seemed to break the rules, and 1% needed further review.

However, advertising by the alcohol-free sector raised more persistent concerns – roughly 48% of alcohol-free product ads were flagged for potential breaches.

• Read more: Dawn Davies showcases The Whisky Exchange’s agave spirits offer

Most of these breaches were related to unclear or missing abv labelling – important for those who avoid alcohol altogether. In response to this the ASA will be publishing advice for the alcohol-free sector and contacting the advertisers responsible.

Adam Davison, director of data science at the ASA said: “We believe AI has the potential to make our online ad regulation much faster and more effective. This report shows that the latest advances in AI can be used to help our experts scan large volumes of ads and check them against lots of complex rules more quickly.

“It highlights that the alcohol sector is generally sticking to the rules, which is great news. We’ve also spotted places where we think we can do more and deliver better regulation thanks to our rapid adoption of AI.”

The ASA has been using AI since 2023 to monitor adverts online, but this was the first time it was used to check a large volume of ads against an entire section of the advertising rules.

It said combining AI with human judgement allowed it to more quickly form a clear picture where adverts fall short of regulation. The takeaways from the trial will be used to guide future improvements in the ASA’s AI tools.

The ASA is the regulator of advertisements across all media in the UK. It does so in the public interest, holding adverts to the standards of the Advertising Codes, and is independent from the Government.

• regulation
• Artificial Intelligence
• advertising standards authority
• Advertising Standards
• Breaches