No Humans Needed?

TikTok wants brands to replace humans with AI and Barbie’s getting a tech makeover.

Jun 18, 2025

In today’s edition:

TikTok encourages brands to create ads without humans
Snapchat unveils new creator features
Barbie is getting an AI upgrade soon
AMC Networks partners with Runway for AI production
Disney and Universal take Midjourney to court

Catch up in 5 minutes

It’s the Creators delivers quick and insightful updates on creators, their businesses, and the platforms they use.

AI Tools Power Up Creators and Brands

TikTok’s New AI Ad Tools
TikTok dropped AI-powered ad tools to create five-second video ads from images or text prompts. Digital avatars can now show off products and even model clothes, all through the Symphony platform. Brands can pump out influencer-style content fast, without needing real people, and we’ll probably see a flood of AI-generated ads on TikTok soon.

Snapchat’s Creator Upgrades
Snapchat rolled out new features to help creators grow their audience and make more use of their content. Now you can save stories to profiles, use their video editor and and templates to turn memories into videos. Analytics also got an upgrade with returning viewers and top content stats.

Brands Dive Into AI

Mattel and OpenAI Team Up

Mattel is teaming up with OpenAI to make AI-powered toys and games, with Barbie likely getting an AI upgrade. They’ll use tools like ChatGPT for personalized, responsive and interactive play while (hopefully) keeping safety and privacy front and center. Mattel also plans to use OpenAI’s tech behind the scenes to enhance product innovation.

AMC and Runway Join Forces
AMC Networks is working with Runway to bring AI into its marketing and TV development. They want to speed up everything from promo images to special effects and let showrunners test out ideas before filming. AMC hopes this keeps them creative and competitive as the industry changes.

Not All Brands Are On Board

Disney and Universal Sue Midjourney

Disney and Universal are taking Midjourney to court, claiming its AI image generator copies their copyrighted characters in a “bottomless pit of plagiarism."

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