Artificial intelligence as a promotional tool for the wine industry: legal implications
AI is described as the most outstanding and shaping technology of our times, with deep and impacting consequences on every possible field of interest. The wine industry is not excluded from this challenging debate. From the monitoring of vineyards for preventing vine diseases, to pioneering instruments for the verification of cellars’ conditions and fermentation data, winemakers are starting to explore AI tools.
Attractive innovative uses of AI platforms for winemaking may consist in the “creation” of new blends and, more in general, of contents related to promotional materials, starting from labels. In such cases, the use of AI may become a significant promotional tool for wine producers. A recent example shows very well the link between new technologies and marketing: the wine The End, produced by Aubert & Mathieu, a French producer from Languedoc-Roussillon, with the contribution of ChatGPT. The AI system provided guidance on the grape varieties to use and their percentages (60% Grenache and 40% Syrah), the design of the label, the product name and the price to be charged. The unique element on which the producer differed from ChatGPT's indications was the price, which was reduced, probably confirming that consumers still tend to value the importance of human creativity more than AI.
It is rather clear, considering the effective poor contribution of ChatGPT on technical and oenological elements, that the limited edition created by the French company has, primarily, a promotional and marketing value. Doing so, wine producers may show how the industry is updated with the latest technologies.
However, under a legal point of view, the way wine producers communicate the use of AI tools may have consequences which deserve to be analysed.
First of all, European legislation requires, in specific cases, that the public shall be informed that certain content, whether images, audio or text, has been created using generative Artificial Intelligence tools, as Chat GPT. Article 50 of EU Regulation 2024/1689 provides for transparency and public information requirements, according to a consumer protection scheme that would also apply to wine producers. The purpose of the legislation, focused on the classification of AI tools on their degree of risk, is to prevent deception and manipulation of reality, phenomena that are increasingly widespread. In the case examined, the French company correctly stated on the label that the wine was produced with the support and the assistance of ChatGPT, without providing further details. However, several articles commenting the commercial initiative of the wine The End may bring consumers to overestimate the platform's role in the production of the wine, which was actually very limited under an oenological point of view.
In this connection, it is essential that companies avoid attributing a role to Artificial Intelligence in advertising that does not correspond to reality. For example, asking a chatbot for simple feedback on a possible blend does not mean that an innovative blend has been created using a generative AI system. Incorrect and disproportionate promotion of the use of such technologies – a phenomenon known as “AI washing” – may expose wine producers, in Italy, to the risk of penalties for misleading advertising and unfair commercial practices, ruled by Articles 20 et seq. of the Italian Consumer Code and by the Advertising Self-Regulation Code. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) and the Advertising Self-Regulation Authority (IAP) are very vigilant in monitoring advertising, especially for matters related to wine and spirits.
For these reasons, the legal implications of AI in the marketing of wine shall be carefully evaluated before starting a new campaign.
Article published in today's Lexology Newsletter, written by Stefano Vergano.