An AI video ad maker does the production: the script, the voice or song, the pictures, the motion and the edit. What it cannot do is decide what your ad is about. This guide is about doing that part well, then steering the rest through make.ad’s reviews so you only pay for work you have approved.
01Pick the kind of ad first
The format decides almost everything else, so choose it before you write. These are the kinds make.ad makes, each with finished examples on its workflow page.
| Format | What it is | Good when |
|---|---|---|
| [Narrated story](/guides/workflows/cartoon) | A character’s story with a narrator and music, drawn in a look you pick | You need to show a problem and a fix |
| [Song ad](/guides/workflows/singing) | A song about your product, sung on Suno, the pictures cut to the words | The product is fun, and memorability matters |
| [Talking person (UGC)](/guides/workflows/ugc) | One real-looking person talking to their phone camera | You want the feel of a recommendation |
| [Ad movie](/guides/workflows/drama) | Shots with their own sound and dialogue on Seedance 2.5 | You want people talking to each other, cinematic |
| [Clone an ad](/guides/workflows/clone) | An ad that already works, remade with your brand | You have a reference whose structure you trust |
02Write a brief the AI can’t misread
A good brief names one audience, one benefit and one action. Then it describes a moment: who is there, what goes wrong, and how the product changes it. Specific moments give the script and the pictures something to show; adjectives give them nothing.
Put the facts you can stand behind in the brief, and the claims you can’t on your brand’s never-claim list. A brief of only a few words still works: make.ad treats it as a label and develops the angle from your brand and audience before it writes, but you will steer more if you write the moment yourself.
The example below is for a made-up brand, Lumo, and a made-up rider, Priya.
Example
Lumo bike lights for people who cycle to work in winter. Open on Priya at 5pm in December, pulling her bike out of the rack into the dark and realising her old light is dead again. Show why cheap lights fail (batteries die in the cold, mounts snap), how Lumo fixes it (USB-C charging, a week of commutes on one charge, a mount that clicks onto any bar), and Priya riding home lit up past the traffic. End on: get Lumo before the clocks go back. Do not claim it makes cycling safe.
03Set the few things that matter
- The look: a drawn ad can wear any of 11 looks (claymation, 3d animated, anime, storybook, comic book, paper cut-out, crochet, felt puppets, toy bricks, low-poly, flat 2d), or match a screenshot of an ad you like.
- The sound: a narrator (a dozen ElevenLabs voices to hear and pick from), a song sung on Suno, or the clips’ own sound with the characters speaking.
- The language: the script is written, sung or read in it; 20 languages are listed and you can type another.
- The shape: vertical 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts by default, or square or wide.
- The length, or leave it on automatic and let the script decide.
04What happens after you press go
make.ad works in stages: the character, the script, the sound, a still for every line, a clip for every still, and the edit. The sound is made before any picture, deliberately: the song or the read sets the timing, and every clip is rendered as long as its line, so the cuts land on the words.
Unless you choose auto, a story or song ad stops for you at the character, the script, the sound and the stills. Each stop comes before the expensive step: a still is one picture, and animating it costs several times as much, so you catch a wrong face or a wrong line while it is cheap.
05What to check at each stop
- Character: the face, the clothes and the style you will see in every scene. Fix it here or fix it everywhere later.
- Script: read it out loud. Check the brand name, the order of events, any claim, and the last line.
- Sound: listen to the whole read or song once. A song’s chorus should land your promise.
- Stills: the product, hands, text and continuity from scene to scene. Select every still that needs another try and redo them in one go.
06Finish, caption and export
When the edit is done, watch it with the sound on. Any one scene’s still or clip can be made again from the ad page with a note saying what to change; the ad is cut again around it.
Captions are a button on the finished video: any colour, placed where you want on the frame, each word lighting up as it is said or the whole line at once, and free. Then download the MP4 or copy a share link anyone can watch.
07Make variations, not one ad
One ad is a guess. A batch makes up to 20 ads with the same character, look and settings, one angle each: write the angles yourself, or give a theme and a count and let make.ad write them. On the site a batch runs on auto by default, without stopping for reviews; set it to stop at each review if you want to approve every ad.
Questions
- How much does an AI video ad cost on make.ad?
- Every ad is priced in credits, and you see the quote before it starts. Plans start at $20 a month. What is held and not used goes back when the ad finishes, and a render that fails gives its credits back.
- Can I use my own script?
- Yes. Paste it in, even as a screenplay with names and directions: only the spoken words are said or sung, and the directions go into the pictures. See writing a script that fits.
- Can I remake an ad I already like?
- Yes. Upload it and make.ad studies its cuts, timing, words and music, then plans the same beats for your brand. See cloning a video for your brand.
- What shapes can it make?
- Vertical 9:16 by default, for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, and square or wide on the brief form.
Write your first brief
One paragraph about the product. Approve each step before the next one costs anything.
Get started