How to Make Video Ads With AI (Product, UGC-Style and Local Business)

Start with the product, the audience and one message

A video ad has seconds to say something. So the first job isn't the tool; it's being clear about what you sell, who you're telling and the one thing you want them to remember.

• Product or service: what it is and who it's for, in the words a customer would use.
• Real benefit: what it solves, with no empty adjectives. Something you can demonstrate.
• One message: if you have three ideas, make three ads.
• Call to action: what the viewer should do next (visit the site, ask for details, drop by the shop).

Type in the facts the AI can't know yourself: price, terms, dates, guarantees. If you supply them, it has no reason to invent them.

A 15-second product ad

Fifteen seconds is enough for a problem, the product as the answer and a call to action, and not much else. AI is useful for drafting several versions so you can pick the one that fits.

Act as a copywriter who specialises in short video.
Write a script for a 15-second ad for [product].
Audience: [description].
Main benefit (real and demonstrable): [benefit].
Facts you may use: [price, terms, dates]. Don't add any others.
Format: a table with second, visual and text or voiceover. Include a hook in the first second and a closing call to action.
Give me 3 versions with different angles: the problem, a demonstration and a before-and-after.
Limits: don't promise results that can't be guaranteed, don't compare with other brands and don't use superlatives like 'the best' without proof.

UGC-style ads without misleading anyone

UGC (user-generated content) style imitates a video filmed by an ordinary person: close camera, natural language, little polish. It works because it feels personal, but there is a clear line: don't present an actor, an avatar or an AI voice as a real customer who has used the product.

• If the speaker is a real person who has used the product and tells it in their own words, you can use their testimonial with their permission.
• If you or the AI wrote the script and a creator, actor or avatar delivers it, present it for what it is: an ad.
• Don't invent reviews, ratings or customer experiences.
• Label the ad as advertising in the way the platform or the law requires (for example, a paid-partnership or sponsored label).

Write the script for a 25-second UGC-style video for [product], to be filmed by [a creator / a staff member / me] talking to camera.
Tone: natural and conversational, no ad-speak.
Structure: hook, the problem, what the product does (only the real features I give you below), a close with [call to action].
Real features: [list].
Limits: don't write invented personal experiences or results I can't back up (phrase it as a demonstration or in the third person), don't say 'I've used it for months' unless it's true, and make clear it's an ad.

An intro video for a local business

For a shop, café, workshop or neighbourhood service, an intro video says who you are, what you offer and where to find you. What it says should be true and easy to check; that is where its value comes from.

Write the script for a 45-second intro video for [business name], a [type of business] in [neighbourhood or town].
What we offer: [short list].
What sets us apart (real): [fact].
Hours and contact: [details].
Tone: [friendly and trustworthy].
Format: a table with scene, visual (shots we can film ourselves on a phone) and text or voiceover.
Limits: don't invent awards, years of experience or customer opinions; use only what I've given you.

AI visuals in ads: where to be careful

Tools like Veo, Kling, Seedance or Runway can generate clips, and others help with voice and captions. Each has its own terms on commercial use, rights and allowed content, so read the current ones before using them in advertising.

• The product in the ad must be the real one. If the AI shows features or finishes it doesn't have, that is misleading advertising.
• Don't use real people's faces, voices or recognisable style without permission.
• Check the rights to music, images and third-party logos.
• Label AI-generated content where the platform or the law requires it.
• Read the platform's ad policies before paying for a campaign; ads can be rejected for reasons you didn't expect.

Checklist before you publish

• Everything the ad claims (price, timing, results, features) is true and I can prove it.
• No invented reviews, testimonials or figures.
• Marked as advertising where required.
• AI content labelled if required, and nobody real is imitated.
• Music and images have clear rights.
• It follows the platform's ad policies.
• It doesn't promise sales, results or performance no one can guarantee.

PromptNow templates for video ads

PromptNow has three templates for this. The UGC-style video ad template generates the prompt for a conversational ad script. The 15-second product ad template prepares the prompt for a short, direct ad. The local business intro video template is for presenting your shop or service.

In each one you fill in a form with the details of your product or business and get a prompt to paste into your AI assistant. The script is a draft: checking that everything is true and compliant is always your job.