In a year when our AI monitoring saw us process 28m ads (a tenfold increase on 2023), through our Active Ad Monitoring System, the ASA and CAP Annual Report 2024, highlights the ongoing transformation of the ASA into a preventative and proactive regulator. Published today, 29 April, the report also highlights how confidence in the ASA system promotes trust in and allows responsible advertising to flourish.
2024: Key figures
In 2024, the ASA and CAP secured the amendment or withdrawal of 33,903 ads. 84% of the ads amended or withdrawn were non-paid ads online – most of which related to claims on company-owned websites and social media accounts. Almost 60% of our activity was preventative/proactive work, already exceeding our strategy target for 2028 when we aim to spend more of our regulatory resource on preventative and proactive activities than reactive complaints casework. And CAP delivered 777,321 pieces of advice and training to businesses to help them stick to the advertising rules
A snapshot of our year reveals that in 2024:
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We received 37,284 complaints about 24,015 ads
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We secured the amendment or withdrawal of 33,903 ads
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Online continues to be the most complained about media - 20,423 complaints relating to 16,530 ads
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While TV remains the second most complained about media – 12,383 complaints relating to 4,008 ads
Embedding Research and AI in Our Regulatory Work
Our report reveals how we have embedded research and AI-based tools in our work to help us monitor and tackle ads in high-priority areas. AI-based tools are now used in most of our projects, including our work on climate change and environment, influencer marketing, financial advertising, prescription-only medicines, gambling, e-cigarettes, and cosmetic surgery clinics based outside the UK. 94% of the ads we had amended or withdrawn last year came from our proactive work using our Active Ad Monitoring system. And we put research at the heart of understanding public behaviours, concerns and attitudes to inform our regulation. All of which is helping our focus on being agile and responsive.
We are making sure we take full advantage of technological advances, with our Active Ad Monitoring system already making use of Large Language Models to speed up review of content in several projects. We are also actively experimenting with how these tools may make our internal processes more efficient in the future. In 2025, we will continue to develop the Active Ad Monitoring system, increasing the number of topics it can monitor and work with industry to fill gaps in visibility.
Protecting vulnerable consumers
And we continued to prioritise the protection of vulnerable groups, taking action on a range of issues across sectors that were causing consumer detriment including: investigating drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic referral services likely to mislead and could affect particularly vulnerable people and their families; shining a light on problem health claims by ruling against a range of ads for supplements that claimed to treat menopause, anxiety, ADHD, and autism as well as ads that claimed CBD was suitable for consumption by children; banning ads by credit unions for irresponsibly encouraging excessive spending through the use of credit, and against ads that encouraged consumers to borrow money for Black Friday sales and spend more than they could afford.
In all our work, we champion responsible advertising, recognising that it drives competition and boosts the economy, which is good for people, good for society and good for business. The wealth of advice and training resources that the ASA system provides to help businesses get their ads right and the AI-assisted regulation that the ASA delivers, all combine to make advertising more worthy of trust.
And public trust in the ASA system is high, our tracking of our own national ad campaign shows that 51% of people trust the ASA and only 6% distrust us. Those who saw or heard our ads were almost twice as likely to say they tended to trust most ads. And the media and platforms that generously donate us ad space get a dividend too, with all channels enjoying a boost in trust amongst those who saw or heard our campaign.
ASA Chief Executive, Guy Parker said:
“Our world-leading use of innovative tech, including our AI-based Active Ad Monitoring system, is a game changer in transforming our regulation to a preventative and proactive approach. It’s supported by our research that helps us explore the ad-related concerns people have, to help understand the most important issues for us to tackle.
While we will continue to focus on tackling irresponsible ads and act without fear or favour, we love creative, engaging, entertaining advertising. It supports the growth and success of the advertising sector and the broader economy. But ads must earn the right to the public’s trust; the ASA system plays an integral part in building that trust, enabling responsible ads to flourish.”
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