Why at Least 50% of Brand Video Will Be AI-Generated by the End of the Year

While the advertising industry was busy debating whether rosé or champagne pairs better with a Bronze Lion at Cannes this year, AI quietly learned how to direct, edit, and produce a spot for less than their dry cleaning bill this week.

During the NBA Finals, Kalshi ran a TV spot that wasn't just a signal of what's possible. It was a warning shot. The entire ad was written, directed, edited, and produced by AI. It didn't rely on clever typography or minimalist design to hide the seams. It was a fully fleshed-out, beautifully rendered narrative ad. And it aired in one of the most expensive media environments of the year.

The irony is delicious. An industry that prides itself on spotting trends was too busy celebrating its own creativity to notice that creativity itself was being automated. But don't worry, I'm sure someone gave a very inspiring speech to 12 people at the Accenture lounge about "the human touch" between the yacht parties.

This is why I believe that by the end of next year, at least 50% of brand-financed video will be generated by AI. Not templated. Not A/B tested with slight variations. But fully scripted, generated and voiced by models like Google's Veo 3, which makes the uncanny valley look like ancient history. This shift won't be limited to low-stakes content or cost-saving plays. It's already happening in the highest-stakes ad slots on the planet.

The Perfect Storm: Why Now?

The Infrastructure Is Already Here

75% of media buys are already being run by AI. If the media side of the business is automated, efficient, and optimized, but creative is still clinging to six-week production schedules and internal review loops, it becomes a bottleneck. Brands don't want a bottleneck. They want speed, relevance, scale, and performance.

Mark Zuckerberg recently said that in the near future, "all ad campaigns will be run by AI. Brands will just say what outcome they're looking for, and the system will handle everything else - creative, targeting, spend." That's not a throwaway quote. That's the business plan. For Meta. For Google. For Amazon. For every platform that wants to capture the full funnel.

The Economic Pressure Is Undeniable

Consider the math: A typical video campaign for a big brand that will run on television costs $500K to $2M when you factor in production, talent, post, and agency fees. An AI-generated equivalent can be produced for under $10K, with unlimited iterations and real-time optimization. When CFOs start asking why creative budgets look like they're from a different century, the conversation changes fast.

Consumer Behavior Has Already Shifted

Gen Z and Gen Alpha don't distinguish between "professional" and "AI-generated" content the way older demographics do. They care about relevance, authenticity, and whether the content speaks to them personally. If an AI-generated video delivers on those metrics better than a traditionally produced spot, the origin story becomes irrelevant.

The Strategic Implications for Agencies and Brands

For Agency Leaders:

Your creative department structure is about to undergo the most significant transformation since the digital revolution. The agencies that will thrive are those reimagining their creative teams as AI orchestrators rather than traditional makers. This means:

• Upskilling creative directors to become prompt engineers and AI creative strategists

• Redefining the creative brief to include AI parameters, style references, and iterative testing protocols

• Building new workflows that integrate AI generation with human strategic thinking and brand stewardship

• Developing proprietary AI tools that become competitive advantages rather than relying solely on platform solutions

For Brand Marketers:

The control you've always wanted over creative output is finally within reach. AI-generated creative lets you test hundreds of narratives, voices, and visual styles in real time. It enables hyper-localization without a ballooning budget. And it creates an entirely new layer of feedback where the work evolves based on performance, not opinion.

But this power comes with responsibility. You'll need to develop new muscles around:

• Brand guideline architecture that works with AI systems

• Quality control processes that can operate at machine speed

• Performance measurement frameworks that account for AI-generated content variations

• Legal and compliance protocols for AI-generated brand assets

The New Creative Ecosystem

What AI Will Dominate:

• Social media content and variations

• E-commerce product videos

• Localized campaign adaptations

• Performance marketing creative

• Explainer and educational content

• Real-time responsive advertising

• Seasonal and event-driven content

What Human Creatives Will Still Own:

• Brand platform development and strategy

• Complex narrative storytelling

• Cultural moment marketing

• Crisis communication

• High-stakes brand campaigns

• Celebrity and influencer integrations

• Live event and experiential creative

The Talent Transformation

We've been here before. When desktop publishing made everyone a designer. When YouTube made everyone a filmmaker. When TikTok made everyone a media company. The difference this time is that brands don't need people to make content anymore. They just need prompts.

For creatives, this is honestly a gut check. The work that will continue to matter is the work that can't be predicted or reverse-engineered. The breakthrough ideas. The iconic platforms. The stories that still surprise. But the other 90%, the explainer videos, the social cutdowns, the vertical ads, the endless briefs asking for content that "feels like a TikTok", AI will do them better, faster, and cheaper.

The New Creative Skillset:

• AI prompt engineering and optimization

• Data interpretation and creative strategy

• Brand voice architecture for AI systems

• Cross-platform content orchestration

• Real-time performance optimization

• Cultural trend analysis and prediction

This isn't a threat. It's freedom. It means we can stop wasting time making what the algorithm already knows and start creating what no one saw coming.

The Competitive Advantage Question

The brands and agencies that win in this transition won't be the ones with the best AI tools, everyone will have access to those. They'll be the ones who figure out how to use AI to amplify human creativity rather than replace it.

This means developing:

• Proprietary data advantages that inform better AI inputs

• Brand voice and visual systems that translate effectively to AI generation

• Testing and optimization frameworks that compound learning over time

• Human creative oversight that ensures AI output aligns with brand values and cultural sensitivity

What You Need to Do This Quarter

If You're an Agency:

1. Audit your current creative processes and identify AI-ready workflows

2. Invest in AI creative tools and training for your team

3. Develop new pricing models that account for AI efficiency gains

4. Create AI-generated portfolio pieces to demonstrate capabilities to clients

If You're a Brand:

1. Establish AI creative guidelines and approval processes

2. Identify low-risk content categories for AI testing

3. Build partnerships with AI-forward agencies or develop in-house capabilities

4. Create measurement frameworks for AI-generated content performance

If You're a Creative Professional:

1. Start experimenting with AI video generation tools immediately

2. Develop expertise in prompt engineering and AI creative direction

3. Focus your human creative energy on strategy, concept, and brand platform work

4. Build a portfolio that demonstrates AI collaboration, not replacement

The Reality Check

We should be clear-eyed about what's coming. The days of handmade brand video as the default are ending. Google's Veo 3 and Meta's Advantage+ suite are the new studio system. Creative has merged with media. The playbook is changing.

By the end of next year, at least half of brand-financed video will be generated by AI. The only question is whether your brand, your agency, or your career will be driving that change, or trying to catch up to it.

The transformation is already underway. The winners will be those who embrace it strategically, thoughtfully, and immediately. The question isn't whether AI will reshape creativity. It's whether you'll be part of shaping how it happens.