iHeartMedia added a new tagline to the top of the hour ID on all of its stations today proclaiming their stations to be “Guaranteed Human”.
Sources indicate this is a promise from iHeart that all of its radio stations will not feature any AI generated content including music. It started from a study released by the company last month that indicated that 82 percent of consumers worry about AI’s societal impact, and 9 in 10 believe it’s important to know the media they consume is created by a real person. iHeart Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman said in the study report that, “In a world of digital saturation and AI acceleration, this study reveals that consumers are not just looking for convenience—they’re searching for meaning. Sports, Radio, live media and human-led storytelling offer a rare sanctuary of trust, empathy and shared experience. Above all, we must continue listening to Americans more closely than ever before and focus on ways to foster real connection and amplify our collective humanity.”
In a related MSNBC interview, Pittman first utilized the term claiming, “The majority of people say they get their news from social, and the majority of people say they don’t trust it. When you look at radio versus social, it’s about three times the amount of trust with radio. Why? Because radio is real humans. There is no internet. You can’t hack it. And by the way, I’m pretty sophisticated. I don’t believe anything… Now, when something pops up on social, I have no idea if that’s real or created by AI. The good news about radio is it’s guaranteed human.”
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iHeartMedia submitted a trademark registration on the “Guaranteed Human” term last week potentially indicating more is to come with the campaign. While we’re told the company will not allow any AI usage over-the-air on its stations, it does continue to use artificial services for backend purposes.
President of National Programming Platforms Tom Poleman shared the following memo with staffers explaining the branding:
Team,
A few weeks ago, I shared that iHeart is one of the last truly human entertainment sources and our listeners come to us for companionship, connection, and authenticity — something AI can’t replicate. We’re Guaranteed Human. We don’t use AI-generated personalities. We don’t play AI music that features synthetic vocalists pretending to be human. And the podcasts we publish are also Guaranteed Human.
Thank you for leaning into our commitment to keep everything we do real and authentic. That’s what makes us special. And now we’re taking it a step further.
Starting Monday, 11/24, we’re making “Guaranteed Human” a core part of our brand. You’ll hear it in our imaging, and we want listeners to feel it every time they tune in. Here’s how:
Hourly Legal IDs:
We’re changing hourly legal IDs beginning Monday to say:
“(Station call letters/name), (city of license) an iHeartRadio station… Guaranteed Human” (with the iHeartRadio audio signature heartbeat).
These will run every hour on our stations.
Sweepers
To augment our legal IDs, we also want you to create fun, nonchalant sweepers that fit your station’s vibe and reinforce that we’re Guaranteed Human. Sweepers should end with the words “Guaranteed Human.” Drop them in every hour, between songs or talk content where it feels natural. Many stations will also start these on Monday, with others ramping up in the following weeks.
Remember, this isn’t a tagline — it’s a promise. And it’s part of every station’s personality. When listeners interact with us, they know they’re connecting with real voices, real stories, and real emotion. That’s our superpower.
A little about why this matters so much; research says:
- 70% of consumers say they use AI as a tool, yet 90% want their media to be from real humans.
- 92% use social media, but 2/3 say it makes them feel worse and more disconnected.
- 92% say nothing can replace human connection — up from 76% in 2016.
- 9 in 10 say human trust can’t be replicated with AI.
To be clear, we do encourage the use of AI powered productivity and distribution tools that help scale our business operations – such as scheduling, audience insights, data analysis, workflow automation, show prep, editing and organization. Those tools help us reach more people efficiently, while preserving the human creativity and authenticity that define our brand.
We talk to our listeners constantly, and they tell us they are also using AI as a tool, but they tell us there’s a limit:
- 3/4 expect AI will complicate their lives in the next year and beyond.
- 82% are worried about the impact AI will have on society.
- 2/3 are worried about losing their jobs to AI.
- And, funny enough, 2/3 even fear that AI could someday go to war with humans.
The bottom line is our research tells us that 96% of consumers think “Guaranteed Human” content is appealing. So, we’re leaning in.
Thank you for keeping it real and making “Guaranteed Human” something that our audience hears and feels every day.
Sometimes you have to pick a side — we’re on the side of humans.
Tom
Cam
The reminds me of a promo I once heard on an iHeart station for their keyword contest. It said “People really do win!”
Anytime you have to give listeners an assurance statement, that should tell you that you’re not doing something right. “People really do win!” begs the question that winners are so few and scattered that it seems like no one is actually winning. Poor contest practice in my opinion.
“Guaranteed Human” is just another form of this. It begs the question, “they weren’t before?” And more importantly, if your people are out in the community, engaging with listeners – this is never a concern to begin with. It’s hard to think that “Bob in the morning” is AI when you see him at every summer street fair and Christmas parade.