TikTok is making significant advancements in its advertising capabilities with the expansion of its Symphony suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, specifically targeting brands and advertisers. Announced at the Cannes Lions international advertising festival, TikTok’s latest development is set to bolster its marketing offerings by introducing dynamic digital avatars among other features, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.
The Symphony suite, a collection of AI-driven products, now includes functionalities like Image to Video, which converts static product photos into engaging five-second clips optimized for TikTok’s format. Another feature, Text to Video, performs a similar conversion for text prompts. Showcase Products is also part of this expansion, using digital avatars to demonstrate products such as clothing or apps on mobile screens, further enhancing TikTok’s advertising ecosystem.
A noteworthy aspect of this expansion is TikTok’s integration with Adobe’s Express, a tool for social content creation, allowing users to leverage these AI capabilities directly. Moreover, the generative AI solutions are being incorporated into WPP Open, the AI-powered operating system of the prominent ad-holding group WPP, which aims to widen access for brands looking to engage in video-first social content.
The move is part of a broader strategy by TikTok to enhance productivity for marketers under pressure to produce large volumes of content quickly, despite often dealing with static budgets. Generative AI has become a promising tool to meet these demands, with recent technological advancements ensuring that AI-generated content is increasingly indistinguishable from human-created media.
WPP, facing challenges from client losses and reduced spending, views this partnership with TikTok as a key component of its recovery strategy. By integrating TikTok’s Symphony suite, WPP aims to offer its clients enhanced creative power through AI, thus allowing for personalized and scalable branded content globally. The ad-holding group has committed to a significant investment in AI, data, and technology to maintain its competitive edge.
Additionally, TikTok is also providing AI-powered dubbing and translation tools capable of supporting over 15 languages, facilitating greater reach in diverse markets. Danone, with its plant-based Alpro brand, has been identified as a launch partner for this Symphony integration, signaling the suite’s potential for broad application across different sectors.
Despite initial skepticism about AI-generated content, particularly in video form where it struggled with realism, the refined technology now promises more believable and effective marketing assets. To ensure transparency and safety, TikTok’s Symphony content will be clearly labeled as AI-generated and will undergo multiple rounds of safety reviews.
This announcement comes amid increasing competition in the digital advertising space, with major players like Meta reportedly developing AI tools to automate marketing functions. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has indicated a potential extension of the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets, a decision that could influence the platform’s future in the American market.
