devEdge Internet Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Usage Policy
How we use AI in your marketing, what we will not do with your information, and the safeguards we practice when using AI.
EFFECTIVE JUNE 2026 · VERSION 1.1 · DOWNLOAD PDF
01 · Introduction
AI tools have become part of how we work, and you deserve to know exactly where they fit into the workflow.
At devEdge Internet Marketing, we are committed to delivering high-quality digital marketing services to clients across Canada and the United States. AI tools help us move faster, think more creatively, and deliver better results.
This policy explains how we use AI tools responsibly, how we protect your information, and what you can expect when AI plays a role in our work.
All of our services may benefit from AI usage: Website Design, SEO, Digital Advertising, Content Creation, Conversion Rate Optimization, Email Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Social Media, and Marketing Strategy.
KEY TAKEAWAY
This document tells you how we use AI, what we will not do with your information, and the safeguards we practice when leveraging AI. It is meant to provide you clarity on our usage and policies of this maturing technology.
02 · Our Position on AI
We use AI as a tool to assist our team, not to replace human judgement, creativity, or accountability. Every deliverable that leaves devEdge and reaches you goes through human review and approval before it is sent or published. AI helps us do our job better. Our people remain responsible for the quality and accuracy of all work.
We do not use AI to remove expertise from our process. AI is just one instrument in a much larger toolkit.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Every piece of work produced for your business, regardless of what tools were used to create it, is reviewed, edited, and approved by a qualified human member of the devEdge team before delivery. You will always have a real person accountable for the work.
Where we stand on how AI was trained
Many AI tools were trained on copyrighted work, and most of the original creators were never fairly compensated for this usage of their works. We do not think that is right, and as an agency that serves fellow creatives, we feel that tension directly.
We also cannot ignore reality. These tools are here, they work, and sitting them out means falling behind. It is not our place to settle the bigger debate. It is our place to use these tools thoughtfully, and to be honest with you about it.
If you would prefer that we limit the role of AI in your work, please review Section 10: Your Options as a Client.
03 · The AI Tools We Use
We work with a range of AI platforms chosen for different purposes. These span text and content generation, AI image & video creation, SEO-specific analysis tools, and AI features built directly into advertising platforms such as Google Ads and Meta Ads.
Each AI platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. A tool that excels at writing long-form content may not be the best choice for generating ad copy or producing a visual concept. We select the most appropriate platform based on the task at hand and the type of result that will benefit you most. Where one tool falls short, we may cross-reference outputs using another, or set AI aside entirely and rely on our team.
We subscribe to professional versions of several major AI platforms, which provide higher-quality outputs and more capable models than their free counterparts. For certain tasks or budgets, free-tier models may be used where they are appropriate and sufficient for the work. Our choice of AI platform is always guided by what produces the best outcome for each client situation.
The AI landscape is changing rapidly, and the platforms we use will evolve over time.
KEY TAKEAWAY
We use several different AI tools because no single tool does everything well. We choose the right tool for each job, the same way a tradesperson chooses the right tool from their kit. And just like a tradesperson, the skill and judgement comes from the person holding the tool, not the tool itself.
04 · How We Use AI Across Our Services
AI is used differently across our service areas. Here is a summary of where it assists our work.
Content creation (blogs, landing pages, ad copy)
- AI may be used to draft initial content, generate outlines, or suggest improvements.
- All content is reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a human team member before delivery.
- We refine AI-generated text to match your brand voice, tone, and audience.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
- AI tools assist with keyword research, competitive analysis, and meta tag drafting.
- SEO recommendations are reviewed by our specialists before implementation.
- AI-assisted content is optimized to meet current search engine quality guidelines.
Digital advertising
- We might use AI to draft ad copy variations and analyze campaign performance.
- Google Ads, and most other ad platforms, include built-in AI for bidding, delivery, and analysis. This is standard industry practice and cannot be fully disabled in modern campaigns.
- Our team monitors, adjusts, and makes strategic decisions on all your active campaigns.
Website design and development
- AI image generation tools may be used to create concept visuals, illustrations, photography, or design elements.
- All design decisions are made and reviewed by human designers.
- AI-generated images are selected, edited, and approved before use on any client website.
- AI Coding may be used to create, update, or improve the features on your website.
Email marketing
- AI may assist with subject line testing, copy drafting, template design, and send-time optimization suggestions.
- All email content is reviewed and approved before being sent to your permission-based list.
Marketing strategy and reporting
- AI tools may be used to help synthesize data, identify trends, draft reports, or suggest strategic frameworks.
- Any AI-generated report is reviewed, edited, and data-verified by a human.
- All strategic recommendations are ultimately developed and validated by human marketing professionals.
Social media
- AI may assist with caption/post drafting, content ideas, imagery, and scheduling suggestions.
- All social content is reviewed and approved by our team and, where applicable, by you.
KEY TAKEAWAY
AI does a first pass on a lot of things. Our team does the second pass. Nothing goes to you, or goes live, without a human signing off on it first.
05 · Client Data and Privacy
Protecting your proprietary information and data systems is a core responsibility. When we use AI tools in our work, we follow these data handling principles:
- We only input publicly available or non-sensitive client information into AI tools, for example your business name, website URL, branding and voice, industry, or publicly listed services and information.
- We never input personally identifiable information (PII) about your customers or leads into AI tools unless it is sufficiently anonymized – and in a way that is compliant with your industry privacy requirements.
- We never input confidential business information such as trade secrets, proprietary formulas, or sensitive internal data.
- We do not share credentials, API keys, or system access with AI tools unless it is strictly necessary to complete a specific task, such as testing a website feature during development.
- When such access is required, AI tools receive only the minimum credentials needed for that task and are never granted access to live or production environments, client-facing systems, or business-critical data.
- In contexts involving sensitive client information, we do not rely on AI tools that use our inputs for model training.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Your private customer information, confidential business details, and proprietary trade secrets will never be shared with any AI system. We only use AI where the identifiable information involved is either anonymized or already publicly available.
We encourage you to speak with us if you have specific concerns about any aspect of data handling in relation to your account. Our practices align with applicable Canadian and US privacy principles.
06 · Accuracy and Factual Responsibility
AI tools can produce inaccurate, outdated, or misleading information, including confidently stated facts that are simply wrong. This is a well-documented limitation of current AI technology.
To manage this risk, we follow these practices:
- All AI-generated content that contains factual claims, statistics, dates, or product and service details is independently reviewed and verified by a human team member before delivery.
- We do not rely solely on AI for technical, legal, financial, medical, or regulatory content without independent verification.
- Where we are unsure about a claim, we research it from authoritative sources or flag it for client confirmation.
- You are always welcome to request sources or additional verification for any content we produce.
KEY TAKEAWAY
AI makes things up sometimes. It can sound completely confident while being completely wrong. That is why every factual claim in content we produce is reviewed by a human.
A note on client review: While we do our best to catch errors, you know your business best. We encourage you to review all deliverables and flag any inaccuracies so we can correct them promptly.
07 · Copyright and Intellectual Property
The legal landscape around AI-generated content and intellectual property is evolving in both Canada and the United States. Here is our current position.
Written content
- AI-generated written content is substantially edited and adapted by our team before delivery, which contributes to its originality.
- We do not reproduce or closely replicate copyrighted third-party content using AI tools.
- We make no guarantee that purely AI-generated text, without meaningful human editing, is protectable under copyright law. This area of law is unsettled in North America.
AI-generated images
- Images generated using AI tools are produced through our licensed subscriptions to those platforms.
- We do not knowingly use AI image prompts designed to replicate or reproduce specific copyrighted artworks, trademarks, people or celebrities that are unaffiliated with you, or recognizable intellectual property owned by third parties.
- Certain jurisdictions recognize parody or satire as a legal exception, but not all, and not necessarily in the case of AI-generated content. We recommend consulting a legal professional before using a person’s likeness or a copyrighted work for satirical purposes.
- Clients should be aware that AI image copyright ownership is a developing legal area. We recommend consulting a legal professional if IP protection for AI-generated images is a priority for your business.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Copyright law around AI content is generally unsettled right now. What we can promise is that we will not use AI to copy or replicate anyone else’s protected work, and we attempt to inject enough originality to make the work distinct.
08 · AI Content and Search Engine Compliance
Google and other search engines have issued guidance on AI-generated content. Here is what you need to know about our approach:
- Google’s official position is that it rewards helpful, high-quality content regardless of how it was produced. Content that is low-quality, spammy, or designed to manipulate rankings is what search engines target, not AI use itself.
- We produce AI-assisted content that is designed to be genuinely helpful to your audience, accurate, and aligned with search quality guidelines.
- We do not mass-produce thin, repetitive, or auto-generated content intended to inflate rankings.
- All content is reviewed for quality, originality, and relevance before publication.
- We stay current with search engine guidelines and update our practices as policies evolve.
KEY TAKEAWAY
We only publish AI-assisted content that meets the same quality bar we would apply to fully human-written content. If it does not pass our editorial review, it does not go out.
09 · Brand Voice, Tone, and Bias Standards
AI language models are trained on large datasets and can reflect biases present in that data. They can also produce generic, off-brand, or culturally inappropriate content if not carefully directed and reviewed. We take the following precautions:
- We provide AI tools with detailed context about your brand, audience, tone of voice, and messaging guidelines to reduce generic or misaligned outputs.
- All AI-generated content is reviewed for brand voice consistency before delivery.
- We check AI outputs for stereotypes, inappropriate assumptions, or language that could misrepresent or exclude your audience.
- We do not copy-paste AI output without editing. Human review and brand alignment is always part of our content process.
- If you have a documented brand voice guide or style guide, share it with us and we will use it to guide AI outputs and our editing process.
KEY TAKEAWAY
AI has a tendency to write in a way that sounds polished but feels generic. We like the polish, but actively work against the generic. Your brand has a specific voice and audience, and it is our job to make sure everything we produce sounds like you, not like a robot.
10 · Your Options as a Client
We respect that some clients may have concerns about AI use in their marketing work. We encourage you to speak with us about your position on AI, and you can request certain accommodations.
Human-only workflow
If you prefer that your deliverables be produced without the assistance of AI writing, coding, or image generation tools, you can request a human-only workflow. Please raise this with us and we will discuss what is feasible for your account, along with any implications for timelines or pricing.
Platform-native AI (cannot be disabled)
Modern advertising platforms, including Google Ads and Meta Ads, have AI built into their core functionality. Features such as Smart Bidding, Performance Max, and Meta Advantage+ use machine learning to optimize ad delivery, bidding, targeting, and content. These features operate at the platform level and cannot be fully disabled while using these platforms. The only way to avoid them entirely is to opt out of paid advertising on those platforms altogether.
We will always be transparent with you about what AI is operating within the platforms we manage on your behalf – especially if you have previously raised concerns about AI usage with us.
KEY TAKEAWAY
You can ask us to keep AI out of your content and creative work, and we will do our best to accommodate that. Most advertising platforms have AI running in the background of their ad systems that cannot be fully disabled, and that is outside anyone’s control.
11 · Policy Updates
The AI landscape is evolving rapidly. This policy is a living document. We will review and update this policy as our tools, practices, and the legal and regulatory environment change. Updates will be posted on our website and communicated to active clients when changes are material.
12 · Questions and Contact
If you have any questions about this policy, how AI is being used in your specific account, or would like to discuss your preferences, please reach out to us directly. We are happy to talk through any thoughts or concerns you may have.
