IAB Australia expands free AI impact assessment tool

IAB Australia has expanded its free AI Impact Assessment tool to help advertising professionals understand how artificial intelligence could change their roles.

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The tool now covers people working across agencies, brands, publishers, creative businesses and ad tech. It also outlines practical steps professionals can take to prepare for changes to their work.

How the AI assessment works

The assessment uses guided prompts to break a person’s role into individual tasks. It then maps each task against an AI exposure spectrum.

This process identifies work that may be automated, tasks where AI could improve performance and responsibilities that will continue to depend on human judgement. These include creativity, relationships and specialist expertise.

Rather than predicting whether an entire role will disappear, the tool creates a personalised map of how its individual components may change. It also recommends skills, training, tools and resources based on each user’s needs and level of AI exposure.

Gai Le Roy, chief executive officer of IAB Australia, said discussions about AI and employment often failed to reflect the complexity of individual roles.

“Most conversations about AI and jobs treat a role as something that either survives or it doesn't. It’s not that simplistic. A role can be made up of ten or twenty different tasks, and AI affects each of them differently.

“Employers and industry bodies have a responsibility to support workforce development as they deploy AI, but individuals also need the tools to take an active role in preparing for what comes next. This assessment provides a practical way for people to understand how their work may change and which skills they should start building now.”

Assessment expanded across the industry

The AI Impact Assessment was originally developed for media agency roles by Kellyn Coetzee, digital industry expert and co-chair of the IAB Australia AI Working Group. IAB Australia has now updated the tool to cover the broader advertising industry.

“Conversations about AI and jobs are often framed too broadly, which can create unnecessary anxiety for employees,” Coetzee said.

“Most roles are made up of many different tasks, and AI will affect each of those tasks differently. The assessment does not attempt to predict someone’s future, but I hope it gives people a structured way to identify their development priorities and connect with practical training and resources that can help them prepare.”

The assessment forms part of IAB Australia’s AI Hub, which provides guidance and resources to support responsible and effective AI adoption across the advertising industry.