Guide
Yes, use AI for video ads, mainly for the editing
Updated
Yes, use AI for the editing: cutting, captions, stock clips and the final file. Be careful when AI makes up people, reviews or shots of your product.
In short
- Yes, you should use AI for video ads, mainly to edit a video you filmed.
- AI is reliable at cutting, captions, stock clips and export, because it works on your own material.
- AI is risky when it invents things, like a customer review, a shot of your product or your main claim.
- AI editing apps like the Captions app, Submagic and Cutroom cost about $10 to $25 a month.
- The biggest gain is testing more ads for the same money, because only 5 to 8% of ads do really well.
- Credits for a 30-second ad in Cutroom
- 110
- Share of Meta ads that did really well, per Motion
- 5-8%
- Ads you try, on average, to find one that works
- 14
Should you use AI for video ads?
Yes, for jobs that work on material you supplied. Be careful with jobs where AI makes up something new.
- AI is safe for cutting pauses, timing captions and finding stock clips, which take a long time by hand.
- AI is risky when it makes up your product shots, your customers or your claims, because viewers need to trust those.
Where AI is safe and where it is risky
The left column cannot invent a claim, because the facts came from you.
Words
- Safe: AI works on your material
- Writing out what you said, word by word
- Risky: AI makes something up
- Writing your ad's claims for you
Picture
- Safe: AI works on your material
- Finding stock clips that match a sentence
- Risky: AI makes something up
- Generating a shot of your product
People
- Safe: AI works on your material
- Cutting pauses from a video of you talking
- Risky: AI makes something up
- An AI actor posing as a customer
Results
- Safe: AI works on your material
- Sorting your ads by how long people watched
- Risky: AI makes something up
- Deciding on its own which ad gets the budget
| Safe: AI works on your material | Risky: AI makes something up | |
|---|---|---|
| Words | Writing out what you said, word by word | Writing your ad's claims for you |
| Picture | Finding stock clips that match a sentence | Generating a shot of your product |
| People | Cutting pauses from a video of you talking | An AI actor posing as a customer |
| Results | Sorting your ads by how long people watched | Deciding on its own which ad gets the budget |
Where AI goes wrong in video ads
These mistakes are easy to miss when you check quickly, but customers often spot them.
- Generated shots of your product can change colour between shots or blur the logo.
- An AI actor telling a personal story about your product often looks fake, because it never used it.
- AI-written scripts read smoothly but sound generic, because the AI does not know your customers.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Do you have to disclose AI in video ads?
On TikTok, yes, for AI-made people, voices and footage. Both rules below were checked on TikTok's and Meta's own pages on 21 September 2026.
- TikTok requires its AI-generated label or a clear disclaimer on ads with fully AI-made video, images or audio, cloned voices or changed actions.
- TikTok rejects or restricts ads that leave the label out.
- TikTok's list does not include ordinary edits like cutting pauses or adding captions.
- Meta adds an "AI info" label to ad images and videos made or heavily edited with its own AI tools, and to ads it detects were made with other AI tools.
- On Meta, ads about social issues, elections or politics must disclose AI themselves.
What AI editing costs
AI editing apps cost about $10 to $25 a month. These prices come from each company's own pricing page, read on 21 September 2026.
AI editing apps and their prices
| App | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Captions app | Edits talking videos on your phone, with pause cutting, captions and b-roll | Free version; Max $24.99 a month |
| Submagic | Adds captions, b-roll and zooms to short videos | $19 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, for 15 videos a month |
| CapCut | Phone and computer editor with auto captions on Pro | Free; Pro $19.99 a month |
| VEED | Browser editor with subtitles and editing by text | Free plan; Creator $10 a month, billed yearly |
| Cutroom | Edits a video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad | First video free; Lite $19.99 a month, about 11 thirty-second ads |
App: Captions app
- What it does
- Edits talking videos on your phone, with pause cutting, captions and b-roll
- Price
- Free version; Max $24.99 a month
App: Submagic
- What it does
- Adds captions, b-roll and zooms to short videos
- Price
- $19 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, for 15 videos a month
App: CapCut
- What it does
- Phone and computer editor with auto captions on Pro
- Price
- Free; Pro $19.99 a month
App: VEED
- What it does
- Browser editor with subtitles and editing by text
- Price
- Free plan; Creator $10 a month, billed yearly
App: Cutroom
- What it does
- Edits a video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad
- Price
- First video free; Lite $19.99 a month, about 11 thirty-second ads
Why AI matters most for testing
Most ads do not work, so the number of ads you can test matters. In Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads, only 5 to 8% did really well.
- That is about 1 ad that works for every 14 you try.
- AI editing makes each extra ad cheap, so you can test more openings and offers.
About 1 ad that works in every 14
1 in 14 is about 7%, inside the 5 to 8% range from Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads.
Ad that did really wellAds that did not
When AI is the wrong choice
AI speeds up making ads. It does not fix what the ad says.
- AI will not help if you already make plenty of ads and none of them sell. Then the problem is the offer or the message.
- An AI actor is the wrong choice for a customer story. Use a real customer, or yourself.
- Generated product shots are the wrong choice when buyers need to see exactly what they get.
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom edits a video you filmed, so every word in the ad is something you said.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long, and get a finished 9:16 MP4 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
- Cutroom cuts it, adds captions in one of 40 caption styles and puts stock clips on the words you pick.
- You change the video by editing its text, so the claims stay yours.
- If nobody wants to film, Basic can also turn a photo and a voice-over into a talking presenter. TikTok needs an AI label on that video.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it.
What Cutroom costs
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Edit one video | 100 credits, covering the transcript, the cuts, the captions and the stock clip search |
| Export | 20 credits per minute of video, so 30 seconds is 10 credits |
| A 30-second ad | 110 credits, about $1.76 on Lite |
| Lite plan | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 thirty-second ads |
| Basic plan | $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits |
| Premium plan | $79.99 a month for 5,000 credits |
| Top-up | 2,500 credits for $39.99, if you run out before the month ends |
| Talking presenter | 350 credits per minute, on Basic and up |
Item: Edit one video
- Price
- 100 credits, covering the transcript, the cuts, the captions and the stock clip search
Item: Export
- Price
- 20 credits per minute of video, so 30 seconds is 10 credits
Item: A 30-second ad
- Price
- 110 credits, about $1.76 on Lite
Item: Lite plan
- Price
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 thirty-second ads
Item: Basic plan
- Price
- $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits
Item: Premium plan
- Price
- $79.99 a month for 5,000 credits
Item: Top-up
- Price
- 2,500 credits for $39.99, if you run out before the month ends
Item: Talking presenter
- Price
- 350 credits per minute, on Basic and up
Questions people ask
- Should you use AI for video ads?
- Yes, for editing: cutting, captions, stock clips and export. Be careful with AI that writes your claims, fakes a customer or generates your product.
- Will using AI hurt my ad performance?
- Not by itself. Generic ads do badly, and AI scripts drift toward generic unless you give them real details. AI editing of your own video does not change what you say.
- Do I have to say my ad was made with AI?
- On TikTok, yes, if it shows AI-made people, voices or footage: use TikTok's AI-generated label or a clear disclaimer. On Meta, you only have to disclose AI in political and social issue ads, but Meta labels many AI ads itself.
- Is an AI actor ever the right choice?
- Yes, for explaining facts or steps, and when nobody wants to be on camera. An AI actor explaining how to use a product usually works fine. For a personal story or a review, a real person is more believable.
- What does AI video editing cost?
- Most AI editing apps cost about $10 to $25 a month. The Captions app's Max plan is $24.99 a month. In Cutroom, a 30-second ad is 110 credits, about $1.76 on Lite at $19.99 a month.
- When should you not use AI for video ads?
- When you already make plenty of ads and none of them sell. Then the offer or the message is the problem, and faster editing will not fix it.
Let AI edit your own video and keep the message yours. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it