TikTok’s been in the headlines a lot lately: Besides the well-documented potential ban, it’s also planning to lay off a significant portion of its operations and marketing teams, according to The Information.
But the short-form video giant is still looking to court advertisers, and at its TikTok World product summit last week, the company debuted a new set of ad tools, with some notably focused on generative AI and automation. They mark TikTok’s continued effort to stay relevant to advertisers as competitors like Meta continue to churn out new ad products and lean into AI.
The lowdown
What are the new tools, exactly? TikTok debuted two new hubs, TikTok One and TikTok Symphony. The former moves various creative tools, including the previously existing TikTok Creator Marketplace, into one place where brands can access creators and agency partners. TikTok Symphony, meanwhile, is a suite of various creative AI tools that can help with tasks like scriptwriting.
To help brands further tap into TikTok’s creator base, the platform also added a Duet feature to its Branded Mission ad product, which lets brands invite TikTokers to collaborate on video content. TikTok also debuted Interactive Add-Ons for TopView, which brings pop-out elements and countdown stickers to the offering. Other new ad tools center around ad automation.
Small fry
TikTok’s full-funnel ad tools are “starting to meet other platforms like Meta,” Danielle Schultz, director of paid social at PMG, said.
The platform’s new offerings may be able to support PMG’s work in several ways, she said. TikTok One could be particularly useful in helping to streamline the agency’s talent identification process for nano-influencers and micro-influencers, because “it’s just hard to know who’s out there,” she said; TikTok One could make more of these creators visible to more advertisers. The new functionalities could also be beneficial for media planning and new business opportunities, she said.
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As for Branded Mission’s new Duet feature, she anticipates that there could be more interest from PMG clients in the tool. Before the new update, “the Branded Mission offering sounded great in theory,” she said, but “it didn’t always necessarily include…some of the other more organically native components that exist in something that may go viral on its own on TikTok.” That meant that many brands in the PMG portfolio have opted out of formal Branded Missions in the past, she said
Slow and steady
TikTok Symphony is the latest in a series of AI-supported ad updates coming to the platform. During TikTok’s NewFronts presentation earlier this month, the company announced new features to its Pulse Premiere offering, including Pulse Custom Lineups, which advertisers can use to leverage generative AI to find trending content tailored to their specific brands. Another tool that TikTok presented at the time, Pulse Premiere Tentpole Moments, will allow advertisers to access major events like the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And TikTok’s biggest social rivals are also investing heavily in generative AI tools. Earlier this month, Meta put out a few of its own ad tools geared toward generative AI-supported text and image generation that are available in the Advantage+ creative section of Meta Ads Manager. AI will enhance ad capabilities on Reels, too, the company said at its NewFronts presentation earlier this month.