15. Which AI-visibility tactics create unacceptable advertising or reputation risk?

Require explicit boundaries around reviews, endorsements and purportedly independent coverage.

Put to: Lily Ray and James Crawford, followed by qualified US advertising counsel.

Why it matters to buyers: FTC guidance addresses fake reviews and testimonials, sentiment-conditioned review incentives and misrepresented company-controlled review sites. Its application depends on the conduct and facts; an AI-visibility objective does not remove those issues. (ftc.gov)

Ask: “Which tactics would you prohibit even if they appeared to increase citations, and how would you supervise subcontractors who publish on our behalf?”

A good answer should cover:

• Genuine customer experience versus fabricated reviews or personas.
• Appropriate disclosures for endorsements and commercial relationships.
• Editorial independence and the limits of paid placements.
• Approval rights, subcontractor records and a register of commissioned publications.
• A response plan for inaccurate or undisclosed material already published.

Press for: a written prohibited-tactics policy and an example of work the expert declined.

Do not publish a search practitioner’s opinion as a legal determination. Have counsel assess the proposed programme, including how relevant advertising rules apply to its specific consumer or business context.

Expert quote — pending: ____________________