Michiel Blonk in LBB: Can you trust AI campaign automation?

In a new piece for LBB, Cape.io CMO and co-founder Michiel Blonk asks whether AI campaign automation can be trusted at scale. His answer: only when trust is built in, through compliance checks before launch and a system that learns from every campaign. Read the full article on LBB.

Key Takeaways

May 26, 2026

Teams still check ad feeds late at night and find the live ad is not the approved one, while fear of non-compliance adds manual review layers, approval paralysis and creative risk-aversion beyond the cost of fines.

Cape.io's Intelligent Campaign Automation combines campaign data, brand context, compliance rules and human expertise to flag risk before launch, so the system catches compliance issues before they air and learns from every campaign.

The EU AI Act's transparency requirements have applied since August 2026, so brands using AI need traceable, accountable workflows, and the post proposes an NPS-style campaign intelligence score covering compliance, brand safety, performance readiness, feed integrity and optimisation maturity.

Key takeaways: how to make AI campaign automation trustworthy

  • The tools got smarter but the anxiety didn't go away. Teams still check feeds late at night and find the live ad isn't the approved one.

  • Non-compliance has a hidden cost. Beyond fines, fear of mistakes creates manual review layers, approval paralysis and creative risk-aversion.

  • Intelligence has to be earned. Real campaign intelligence runs campaigns efficiently, catches compliance issues before they air, closes the feedback loop and compounds on your own history. Most platforms deliver only one or two.

  • Compliant creative is the confident version. Cape.io's Intelligent Campaign Automation combines campaign data, brand context, compliance rules and human expertise to flag risk before launch.

  • The EU AI Act raises the bar. Since August 2026, brands need accountable AI workflows, not another plug-in.

  • Marketing needs a campaign intelligence score. One NPS-style number covering compliance, brand safety, performance readiness, feed integrity and optimisation maturity.

Related reading: [You don’t have an AI problem, you have a trust problem]


Frequently asked questions

Can AI campaign automation be trusted?

Yes, when compliance checks happen before launch and the system learns from every campaign. Otherwise it scales mistakes as fast as campaigns.

What is Intelligent Campaign Automation?

Cape.io's approach to AI-powered campaign execution, combining campaign data, brand context, compliance rules and human expertise to flag risk before ads go live.

What does the EU AI Act mean for marketers?

Since August 2026, its transparency requirements apply. Marketers using AI need traceable, accountable workflows.

About the author

Michiel Blonk is CMO and co-founder of Cape.io, the advertising delivery and Intelligent Campaign Automation platform. Cape.io has 28 years of broadcast heritage in ad delivery and compliance.

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