TikTok Expands AI-Powered Advertising Tools with Virtual Avatars and Video Generation
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Here comes the AI sponcon
Social media is filled with an endless supply of people selling things, from Shein try-on hauls to health supplement and gadget product placements. Influencer marketing disrupted traditional advertising, creating an army of living room salespeople pumping out content meant to entice strangers at scale -- and tech companies' vision for the future includes more automation. TikTok announced today it was adding new capabilities to Symphony, the company's AI ads platform it launched in 2024. The features go beyond generating basic videos and images -- instead, the system's new output mimics what audiences are used to seeing from human influencers. The company says advertisers will be able to upload images, provide a text prompt, and generate videos with virtual avatars holding products, trying on and modeling clothing, and displaying a brand's app on a phone screen. Some features already available to TikTok users -- like creating a video out of a photo -- will also now be available to advertisers.
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TikTok launches new AI tools for advertisers, including AI avatars for video ads
TikTok is bringing more generative AI features to its growing suite of tools for advertisers. On Monday, the social media app introduced image-to-video and text-to-video support as well as a feature called Showcase Products, which lets digital avatars show or wear products. TikTok's AI-generated ad tools are part of a larger trend seen across the industry that leverages generative AI's ability to quickly and easily pull together video ads at minimal cost. This is thanks to the widespread availability and advancement of AI models that can generate images, text, audio, and video from a simple prompt. Meta is also leaning heavily into genAI for advertising and reportedly plans to automate all ad creation with AI by 2026. And if you watched the NBA finals last week, you may have seen the unhinged AI video ad for Kalshi, which was made using Google's Veo 3. TikTok's new features are part of TikTok Symphony, the existing collection of AI tools for advertisers. Previously, TikTok introduced AI-generated avatars, a virtual assistant for identifying trends and creating scripts, and AI voice dubbing. With image and text to video, advertisers can now upload an image or write a text prompt and Symphony will turn it into a video clip featuring these AI avatars. The Showcase Products feature builds on the existing avatar feature, so that they can now hold up a product, model an item of clothing, or hold up a phone showcasing an app. This feature, plus image and text-to-video support, will be available to advertisers globally in the coming weeks in the TikTok Symphony Creative Studio. So, prepare to see a lot more AI-generated ads on TikTok very soon.
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TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools
Tiktok's Symphony product was unveiled in 2024 The aim was to make advertisements using generative AI AI-generated ads are becoming more popular TikTok is rolling out a set of new artificial intelligence-powered advertising features, including the ability for marketers to use text or still images to create AI-generated video for the service. Marketers can upload an image of a product they want to feature, or write a short text prompt describing the kind of video ad that they want, and TikTok's AI tools will produce various five-second clips that can then be used in an ad, the company announced Monday. The text- and image-to-video features are part of TikTok's existing Symphony product, which was unveiled in 2024 to help brands create advertisements using generative AI. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, already lets advertisers use AI-enhanced spokespeople, referred to as avatars, to help promote and sell their products on the video app. AI-generated ads are becoming more popular as major platforms like TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc. seek ways to lower the cost of production, which in turn may give small businesses more money to spend promoting ads. TikTok's new tools were announced in conjunction with the Cannes Lions advertising festival, which is happening this week in the south of France. AI-generated advertisements are likely to be a major theme of the conference. © 2025 Bloomberg LP
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TikTok introduces new AI features in its Symphony platform, including text-to-video and image-to-video capabilities, as well as virtual avatars for product showcasing, signaling a shift towards AI-generated content in social media advertising.
TikTok's AI-Powered Advertising Revolution
TikTok, the popular social media platform, is taking a significant leap into the future of digital advertising with the expansion of its AI-powered tools. The company has announced new features for Symphony, its AI advertising platform launched in 2024, which promise to transform the way brands create and deliver content to users 1.
New AI-Generated Video Capabilities
At the heart of TikTok's latest update is the introduction of text-to-video and image-to-video functionalities. These tools allow advertisers to generate video content by simply uploading an image or providing a text prompt. The AI then creates various five-second clips that can be used in advertisements 3. This advancement significantly reduces the barriers to entry for video ad creation, potentially democratizing the advertising space for businesses of all sizes.
Source: NDTV Gadgets 360
Virtual Avatars and Product Showcasing
One of the most intriguing features introduced is the "Showcase Products" capability. This allows digital avatars to interact with products in ways that mimic human influencers. These AI-generated characters can hold products, model clothing, and even display apps on virtual phone screens 2. This feature builds upon TikTok's existing avatar technology, offering a new dimension of product demonstration and engagement.
Source: The Verge
Industry Trends and Implications
TikTok's move reflects a broader trend in the advertising industry towards AI-generated content. Other tech giants, such as Meta, are also investing heavily in this area, with reports suggesting plans to automate all ad creation with AI by 2026 2. This shift is driven by the potential for AI to create content quickly and cost-effectively, potentially revolutionizing how brands approach digital marketing.
Cost Reduction and Accessibility
The introduction of these AI tools is expected to significantly lower production costs for advertisers. This could be particularly beneficial for small businesses, potentially allowing them to allocate more resources to ad promotion rather than content creation 3. By making high-quality video ad creation more accessible, TikTok may be opening up new opportunities for businesses that previously found video advertising prohibitively expensive or complex.
The Future of Influencer Marketing
While these AI tools offer exciting possibilities, they also raise questions about the future of influencer marketing. The ability to create realistic, AI-generated content that mimics human influencers could potentially disrupt the current ecosystem of social media marketing 1. It remains to be seen how this will impact the role of human influencers and the authenticity of brand-consumer relationships on social platforms.
Global Rollout and Industry Reception
TikTok plans to make these new features available to advertisers globally in the coming weeks through the TikTok Symphony Creative Studio 2. The announcement coincides with the Cannes Lions advertising festival, where AI-generated advertisements are expected to be a major topic of discussion 3. This timing underscores the significance of these developments in the broader advertising landscape.
Source: Mashable
As TikTok pushes deeper into AI-generated advertising, it sets the stage for a new era of digital marketing. The balance between AI efficiency and human creativity will likely be a key consideration for brands as they navigate this evolving landscape.
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