To advocate for corporate digital responsibility (CDR) in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), this article provides a comprehensive overview of AI in the advertising process as well as the associated ethical and sociopolitical concerns. We first define AI and explain the key concepts and approaches in creating AI systems, before we discuss the state-of-the-art AI applications for marketing communications. We then discuss algorithmic bias and delineate the sociopolitical consequences of hyper-personalization and commercial surveillance enabled by AI. We conclude this article with an emphasis on AI literacy and a call for advertisers to join forces in demanding regulations and accountability structures to enforce fair, transparent, and ethical uses of AI. Through this primer, we aim to inspire scholars who are entering the interdisciplinary research field of AI-mediated brand-consumer interaction and to inform advertising educators and industry professionals of the benefits and perils of AI in marketing communications.