Can I use AI-generated video in Meta ads for my newsletter?
Short answer
For background footage, yes. A drone-style AI shot of a kids' baseball game looks real at ad size, and its only job is to stop the scroll. I won't use AI people pretending to be real as the face of a brand. And watch your audience: when one audience complained about AI video, I switched that ad to real event photos.
Background video exists to stop the scroll. AI can make that.
"Nobody's signing up because they see people cheersing at a fun, you know, first Friday thing."
A drone-style shot of a kids' baseball game generated with an AI video tool is indistinguishable from real footage at that size. If the background is just there to catch the eye, AI is fine.
Where do you draw the line?
- Fine: AI background footage.
- Not for me: AI people talking to camera pretending to be real.
- Never: an AI avatar as the face of the brand. AI is fine for ads. For the actual face of my brands, I record myself.
I'm very AI-forward, and the human AI videos are the ones I'm not a fan of, because people can still tell. To be fair, our AI-presenter ads have worked better than you'd think.
What if my audience notices?
Change course. On one event community's ads, the audience was noticeably complaining about AI-generated video. I moved that creative to a photo slideshow and carousel of real event photos.
My slideshow recipe:
- About 10 real event photos, built in CapCut.
- One to 1.5 seconds per photo.
- Lead with people, like people hugging.
- Include women in the first three photos for that audience.
The opener rule holds either way: no empty venue shots and no AI-animated stills as the first two seconds.
Does AI video perform as well as real video?
Not proven. My media buyer has warned that AI video underperformed real video in past Meta tests. For paid-subscriber ads, my plan was AI creative first for speed and control: make concepts quickly, then add real b-roll once a concept validates. My AI background variants started in the test campaign, not the main one.
How do I make AI footage look less AI?
Ask for handheld camera work and direct cuts, and vary the cast. I wrote that up in how to prompt AI video for ads.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From creative strategy calls and ad review sessions with TJ's media buyer in 2026. Last updated .