The emerging role of Generative AI in Creative development and testing

The use of Generative AI (GenAI)–crafted advertisements has grown significantly in recent months, particularly in the early phases of creative development and pre testing. Traditionally, advertisers relied on animatics to illustrate script execution — including narrative flow, product integration, and the role of music — before moving into full production. Today, GenAI films are increasingly replacing animatics, offering a faster, more flexible, and cost efficient way to visualise creative ideas.

1. How GenAI is being used in Creative development

GenAI crafted ads are primarily being deployed at the pre testing and early development stages. Their role closely mirrors that of traditional animatics, enabling teams to:
• Visualise how a script may come to life
• Assess narrative flow, product cues, and story structure
• Experiment with creative territories before committing production budgets

Client adoption is rising rapidly. In 2025, 15% of all Unfinished ads tested were GenAI crafted animatic films — with 80% of these emerging in just the last six months. This marks a strong acceleration and signals a clear workflow shift, not experimentation. Globally too, GenAI is becoming a mainstream tool for early stage evaluation.

2. What we’re learning: Strengths and Gaps

a. Storytelling clarity
GenAI crafted films generally succeed in conveying the broad narrative. However, finer emotional cues and subtle story nuances are often under expressed, affecting depth and clarity.

b. Language and Execution challenges
Language adaptation remains a key challenge:
• Scripts that perform well in Hindi may lose nuance in regional adaptations.
• Audio–video synchronisation issues — especially lip sync and timing mismatches — are frequently observed.

These execution gaps can weaken consumer response and influence test performance.

3. Performance of GenAI ads: India vs Global

Globally, Gen AI based ads tend to score slightly lower on overall impact. In contrast, in India, GenAI ads perform at par with traditionally produced ads, including on emotional response metrics. 


Percentage in Top tertile 
Early trends indicate that Gen AI crafted ads have tended to over index in terms of being competitive on ability to drive Enjoyment, Brand Linkage and Persuasion.

Above data gives us the reassurance that there is no systemic bias to fear for while testing GENAI crafted ads as part of the creative development process. 

GenAI Animatic review checklist

This checklist helps assess whether AI generated animatics are strong enough to evaluate the potential of a TV or digital ad. As GenAI continues to evolve, the checklist guides teams to harness current strengths while managing limitations, ensuring stimuli remain comparable to traditional animatics.

1. Facial expression and emotional legibility
This remains the single most important factor. If viewers cannot clearly read intended emotions, the emotional arc breaks — reducing enjoyment, empathy, and message clarity.

2. Voice sync and delivery (Lip sync + Tone match)
Lip sync issues are among the most common GenAI pitfalls and can immediately distract viewers.
Misaligned voice delivery can distort meaning, undermine emotional cues, and reduce credibility.

3. Narrative flow and scene transitions
Smooth transitions help maintain narrative coherence. Abrupt or inconsistent shifts can confuse viewers and weaken engagement — especially in fast paced pre testing.

4. Clarity of key narrative moments (e.g., Product reveal, Emotional peak)
Consumers must be able to clearly identify turning points. If key moments like product integration or the main message are not visually prominent, test results may undervalue the idea’s true potential.

5. Cohesiveness of visual style
GenAI can produce inconsistent aesthetics across frames. Even minor inconsistencies can distract viewers and influence how they interpret story and brand cues.

6. Visual fidelity and realism balance:
Faces or objects that appear overly realistic compared to the surrounding scene can trigger an unintended uncanny valley effect. Ensuring a consistent level of realism across characters and environments helps avoid distraction and keeps viewers focused on the story.

In summary 
GenAI is becoming a powerful tool for early creative development — not a replacement for polished production, but a catalyst for faster visualisation, iteration, and testing. While strengths around speed and adaptability are clear, improving language adaptation and audio visual synchronisation will be essential to unlocking GenAI’s full storytelling potential.

To explore more: visit https://www.kantar.com/solutions/creative and https://www.kantar.com/solutions/media

Reach out to your local Kantar representative or prasanna.kumar@kantar.com  to learn more.

Author: Prasanna Kumar, Executive Vice President, India, Kantar