ICC/Esomar Code: What Role Does It Play in Compliance and Transparency in the Age of AI Transformation?

Every Esomar member undertakes to comply with the ICC/Esomar Code of Conduct, the latest version of which was published in June 2025. Beyond formal individual commitments, this Code forms part of the compliance framework for Research agencies, with a useful role to be clarified in relation to other documents such as the ISO standard. The Code also plays a major role in ensuring transparency and the smooth functioning of the market, which is particularly valuable at a time when AI is giving rise to new offerings that are disrupting the market.

3 Sources of Compliance Frameworks

Research agencies’ compliance policies are generally structured around three main frameworks: legal, technical and ethical. The law applies to everyone, and research agencies must, of course, comply with national and regional regulatory frameworks (for example, within the European Union). Legal compliance takes precedence over all other frameworks, as emphasised by the first fundamental principle of the ICC/Esomar Code: ‘All research must be legal’ – no technical or ethical standard can justify a breach of a legal obligation! Furthermore, any professional activity carried out in a given territory must comply with that territory’s commercial framework and participants’ rights (data protection in particular): compliance solely with the legal framework applicable to the Research agency’s head office is by no means sufficient! Companies operating internationally must, in particular, ensure they comply with digital regulations in each country: there may be numerous local specificities, even within a harmonised regional framework such as the GDPR and the AI Act in the UE.

This legal framework may include additional obligations for certain types of research: this is often the case for polling, which are subject to publication bans during an election campaign, or even to transparency and control requirements (particularly in France). Whilst not directly covered by a specific law, other types of research may be subject to additional constraints: healthcare (declaration of incentives paid to professionals, risk alerts, etc.), mystery shopping (prior notification of employees), etc.

The second source of reference comes from technical standards, with the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) as the main body responsible for issuing international standards. These standards provide guidelines for carrying out an operation, implementing a project or developing a product, thereby ensuring standardisation within a market and strengthening quality control. The standard for the market research industry is ISO 20252:2026 ‘Market, opinion and social research, including insights and data analytics’, published in September 2026. A company wishing to obtain a certificate of compliance with the ISO standard undergoes a lengthy and thorough review of its procedures (documentation, traceability, training, monitoring, etc.) and an external audit (to be repeated after three years).

The third source of compliance consists of codes of conduct, which are sets of guidelines containing values, principles and rules to be applied in the conduct of activities or operations. This standard, sometimes also referred to as a code of ethics, may be issued by a private company or by a public or private organisation (NGO, association, trade union, etc.). Research agencies may refer to a national code of conduct or use only an international code, the ICC/Esomar Code. Its previous revision in 2016 was intended to adapt to developments driven by new data sources (web, social media, mobile) and the early uses of AI, as well as to strengthen data protection. The 2025 revision provides better coverage of automation and AI.

Unlike an ISO standard, the ICC/Esomar Code does not aim to standardise a product or service and its production stages. It focuses instead on ethics, responsibilities (towards research participants, clients, the general public and other professionals), and the rules governing the proper functioning of the market (transparency, non-prejudice, confidentiality of client information, etc.). To facilitate its implementation, the Code is accompanied by supplementary documents setting out how to apply its ethical rules in specific operational cases.

Overall, the legal, technical and ethical sources of compliance complement one another and together ensure the trust of the public, clients and regulatory authorities.

Innovation, Ethics and Market Transparency

The ISO 20252 standard and the ICC/Esomar Code are updated following extensive international consultation and several timely steps. Furthermore, publishing new rules involves allowing a period for adaptation, along with the necessary updates of controls and audits. ISO standards undergo systematic review at least every five years to determine whether they should be confirmed, revised or withdrawn. This review does not necessarily result in a new edition. However, technological developments are accelerating and may give rise to calls for greater consideration to be given to them. The gap between the current pace of technological change and the revision of the compliance framework is sometimes cited to argue that “innovation requires breaking the rules”!

Whilst innovation can rapidly bring about new products and production methods, this may render technical standards less relevant; but ethical rules and data protection continue to apply. The fifth fundamental principle of the ICC/Esomar Code 2025 emphasises this as follows: “Researchers have the overall responsibility and oversight for the research they undertake, irrespective of the method, technique and technology applied.”

The Code sets out several transparency obligations towards survey participants for AI-assisted data collection, and towards clients for the use of AI in the data collection, analysis, reporting and interpretation phases of the research. These obligations are deliberately worded in general terms to avoid becoming obsolete should new offerings or algorithms emerge in the future. In particular, the transparency obligations toward clients set forth in Article 8a require the identification and disclosure of known, potential or suspected biases in the research, which encompasses the use of AI, including generative and agentic AI and synthetic data.

Esomar provides supplementary guidance to help researchers apply the Code’s ethical rules when using AI or synthetic data. These resources can be updated more quickly as technologies and research practices evolve.

But are ethical compliance and transparency regarding techniques and methods enough for clients? No, of course not, because expertise, quality and reliability are just as important! However, it is often difficult to assess these based on sales presentations alone… The Esomar Questions are therefore essential tools to help clients ask their suppliers the right questions in order to select the most suitable proposals. These questions help identify service providers who offer clear, relevant, and well-documented answers.

This is particularly useful for complex cases involving new technologies or methodologies: the questions on AI and synthetic data, although relatively new, will be updated to reflect the latest offerings. The ICC/Esomar Code, along with its supplements clarifying the practical application of ethical rules, and the Esomar Questions together constitute key tools for the proper functioning of the market, especially during this period of transformation driven by AI!

Find Out More

• ICC/Esomar Code: https://esomar.org/icc-esomar-code-of-conduct
• Esomar Questions
  • 10 Questions Buyers Should Ask Suppliers of AI-Based Research Services
  • 10 Questions to Consider When Using AI in the Research Process
• Esomar Companion Guide
  • Using Research Data to Develop and Improve AI: An Esomar Companion Guide
• AI Alliance: https://esomar.org/representation/responsible-ai-development
• ISO 20252:2026: https://www.iso.org/standard/88881.html